Avatar Book Three: Fire
by Quiet Wyatt
Summary: My own version of Season Three AangXKatara/ZukoXKAtara/SokkaXSuki
1. The Awakening

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book 3: Fire**

**Chapter 1: The Awakening**

Author's Note: Quite obviously, this is my own version of Season 3. I'm doing this to keep me entertained until Season 3 debuts. I hope you enjoy it.

Sokka's eyes shot open. The sixteen year old warrior from the Southern Water Tribe stole a quick glance around the campsite. A loud pounding sound was coming from somewhere. Sokka sat up and looked for his traveling companions. His gaze rested on two dark shapes on the ground.

_That must be His Holy Avatarness and Lil' Sis the Waterbender. That means that the Great Rock Pusher is responsible._

Sokka pulled his sleeping bag up as far as it would come. Eventually, he had to admit defeat. He had just grown too much, and the sleeping bag was too small. Sokka groaned and snuggled into his bag, trying to get back to sleep. The pounding continued. Sokka looked around again. His friends were starting to stir. His sister was first to speak.

"What's that banging sound?"

Aang, His Holy Avatarness, groggily rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He too glanced around, searching for the source of the disturbance. His gaze fell on Katara, who still looked as sleepy as he felt. Her dark brown hair was not done up in her braids or "hair loopies" as he liked to think of them. It fell freely and seamed to frame her lightly tanned face. Aang stared for several seconds before the pounding sound came again.

"What IS that noise?"

Before Aang could answer, an angry snort was heard. Both looked over at Sokka. While he was still lying down, it was obvious that he was awake and alert. As they watched, he rolled over and grumbled something. While most of it was hard to hear, they could barely make out the words "Toph", "Meat", "Noises", and "Sleep". Aang laughed. He always got a kick out of Sokka. The young warrior was forever finding a problem with something or other on their trip. Katara, who loved her brother to death, but grew tired of his complaining just the same, rolled her eyes and looked at Aang. The young Airbender quickly looked away. He and Katara were friends, true, but he really didn't want to explain to her why he was staring at her. Maybe she would understand, maybe not. And what if she said no?

"Aang? How's the back?"

Aang snapped his mind out of the gutter at the sound of her voice. His back actually felt quite a bit better, and he told her so.

"Do you really think I believe that? You sound like Sokka does when he's lying."

"If you two wanna talk about me, fine. But give me the courtesy of being gone when you do."

Katara sighed and walked over to her brother. His sleeping bag was curled up on the ground and covered in dew. He looked up to see his sister standing over him, a fierce look on her face. He gave a small EEP and tried to burrow into Appa's side.

"Maybe if you didn't sleep in so late, then you'd be gone by the time we get to you"

Katara planned to berate her brother for at least a few more minutes, when a fresh chorus of booms echoed through the camp, cutting off anything she was going to say. She turned on her heels, marching off to find the source.

Aang and Sokka were quiet for several seconds before they could hear her screaming.

"Toph! It's hard enough trying to sleep when we have to deal with Sokka talking in his sleep, but the constant bangs, pounds, and booms are getting to me!"

Sokka turned and looked at Aang.

"Do I really talk in my sleep?"

The future Avatar looked back at the warrior.

"Sorry, Sokka. But yes."

Sokka burrowed into his sleeping bag again.

"Whatever."

Aang chuckled and looked up just in time to see Katara walking back into camp. He noted the dust covering her and the fact that she was rubbing her backside. She marched right back to her own sleeping bag and sat down, immediately folding her arms and pouting.

"I really hate that girl sometimes."

Aang decided it was best not to ask. He yawned and picked himself up. He had, as he always did, spent the night on one of Appa's giant paws. He stood up and stretched. In his current predicament, this wasn't the best choice. His back gave flair of pain. He cried out and fell back onto Appa's paw. Instantly, Katara was there.

"Aang? Are you alright? I knew we should have taken it easy for a while. It's only been three days since…"

"Katara, I'm fine."

Katara fell out of her motherly stride. It was just natural for her. She refused to believe that Aang was even slightly recovered, but a day and a half of uninterrupted sleep and two days of healing water applied to his back had done wonders. Aang continued to stare up at her.

"You worry too much."

Katara learned down, until her face was almost touching his.

"I just don't want to lose you." _Again_.

She kissed his cheek and stood up. She turned back to her sleeping bag and picked it up and started to fold it. Aang raised a hand and put it on his cheek. He could feel the blush covering his face, his heart beating faster…

"Hey, I can't let a little pain ruin the day. Right, Sokka?"

Aang looked over at where Sokka had been lying, but the warrior had vacated his sleeping bag.

"Hey! Sokka's gone!"

Katara looked up from what she was doing. True enough, Sokka was gone. She sighed and walked back over to Aang. She sat down next to him and put her arm around him, drawing him close.

"It must be more than a _little_ pain. You were struck by lightning. It's enough to hurt anyone. Don't be scared about telling your friends when it hurts."

"Katara, really, I'm fine. I feel great."

"I can tell you're lying, Twinkle Toes."

The pair looked up. Toph was making her way over to them. Katara looked about to say something, but Aang cut her off.

"What were you doing, Toph? What were are those bangs for?"

Toph reached the two and sat down. She pulled a few berries out of a pocket and popped them into her mouth.

"Just moving some earth. Care to join me later?"

Katara tightened her grip on Aang's shoulder. She wasn't about to let him hurt himself again.

"No. He doesn't. Aang still needs to rest."

Toph smiled. She knew how to deal with this.

"Fine with me. If you two want to waste the whole day _kissing_ and splashing around in the river _together_, then I'm not one to stop you."

Toph's sentence immediately brought back memories for Aang and Katara. Mainly, the uncomfortable situation of being trapped in a cave with each other. Before they could reply in their own separate ways, Sokka came stomping back into camp. He slumped onto the ground next to Aang.

"I don't suppose any of you have any meat, because I can't find any."

Toph moved her hand. On instinct, Sokka jumped up and hid behind Appa. Toph grinned.

"Very nimble. Here, eat these."

She tossed a handful of berries at Sokka, who had recovered enough to catch them. He tossed them all in his mouth as one. Of course, this did little to whet his appetite. He immediately looked around the gang.

"Are you sure no one has any meat?"

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Appa flew over a field. Aang was riding in his usual spot on Appa's head. Katara was lying down on Appa's back, but she was on her stomach and holding onto Appa's fur. Toph was gripping Sokka's arm again, her fear of flying was still very real. But Sokka was sitting up; riding on the bison's back as if he had been doing it for his entire life.

A flash of light made Sokka turn his head. He thought he was imagining things when it came again, followed but several more. He nudged Toph.

"Hey. There're some flashes of light to our left."

Toph's sightless eyes meet his.

"Real flashes? Or bending flashes?"

Sokka shrugged. He grabbed Toph's hand to let her know he was still there and slowly made his way towards Aang.

"Aang! There are some flashes of light to our left!"

"I know. We've been descending for a minute now."

"Ohh. Well ok then."

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Zuko shot another fireball from his hands at the soldiers sent by his sister to capture him. He was stupid to believe her. She always lied. Why would this time be any different? The young Earthbender he was fighting looked exhausted, but he, Zuko, was fresh and could fight on. He launched another fireball, but saw the bender dodge it. He was more disappointed when the young bender turned and ran. He didn't blame the man. After all, Zuko had managed to down more than half the patrol.

He was still watching the man run when he felt the wind on his back. He turned around in time to see the Avatar jump off the bison's back, his friends' right behind him. He heard a collective gasp.

"Zuko?" said several confused voices.

"Avatar."

The air rushed out of Zuko's body as he dropped where he stood.


	2. The Awakening Part 2

Avatar the Last Airbender

Book Three: Fire

Chapter One: The Awakening Part Two

_You didn't protect me._

_You didn't protect me, Sokka._

_You didn't protect me._

"YUE!"

Sokka sat bolt upright in bed. His breath came in short fast gasps. He knew it was just a dream, but it had seemed so real. He knew Yue was the Moon Spirit now, and that he had not needed to protect her, but he still felt the guilt of her necessary action. She had sacrificed herself to save the world; to restore the proper balance of things. She had sacrificed herself. She had sacrificed _them_. Sokka took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He knew it must be late; the sun had already fallen, and the fire was a pile of ashes glowing slightly.

He could see the shapes of his sister and best friend curled up and asleep. Aang was stretched out on Appa's paw. The little monk looked so peaceful and serene; it was hard to imagine him as the all-powerful Avatar. His little sister was snuggled up with her back to Sokka. He could hear the soft rise of fall of their breathing. It had not escaped his notice that Toph was not in the immediate camp site. He looked around, but couldn't see anything outside the ten-foot radius of light that the fire was still giving off.

"She still doesn't like to sleep by us. Even after all we've been through…"

Sokka found that he really didn't care where she slept. Toph was her own person, and had quickly made it clear that he could not boss her around; like he did his sister. But it still bothered him that she didn't feel the need to be closer to them.

"Azula always lies"

Sokka's head perked up. He cast his gaze in the direction of the whisper; and their most recent unwelcome guest. Prince Zuko was also sitting up in bed, but he was staring into the fire, or what was left of it. Sokka had to admit, he wasn't pleased that Aang had decided to "rescue" Zuko again, but hadn't Katara said that he had changed?

"What was that, Your Princelyness?"

Zuko looked over at Sokka, the light from the fire catching his scar and making it seem more prominent. He brought his hand to it, before speaking.

"I said Azula always lies."

"So why did you side with her?"

"She told me that I could restore my honor, and that Father would welcome me with open arms."

As Sokka watched, Zuko's eyes flared, and the fire burst into bright, strong flames. Sokka fought the urge to jump back. He hadn't realized he was so close to the fire pit. Instead, he settled by slowly inching backward. Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"You don't like fire?"

Sokka jump to his feet. His hands were shaking and clenched into fists. His voice cracked with emotion as he spoke.

"The Fire Nation killed my mother! I hate them! I hate you!"

Zuko calmly glanced at Sokka, and then continued. His voice was full of menace.

"I asked you if you didn't like _fire,_ not my home."

Sokka's eyes glared hatred at the banished prince.

"No! Fire burned my little sister! She might have died if Aang hadn't stopped!"

Zuko gave a little start. This was news to him.

"The Avatar burned your sister? I didn't know he could Firebend."

"He can't. He was just playing around with some fire that another Firebender had made for him."

Zuko raised his eyebrow.

"This Firebender's name?"

"Jeong Jeong."

"Jeong Jeong the Deserter?"

"Yeah. That was his name. He tried to teach Aang Firebending, and then Aang burned my sister. Fire only brings pain."

Zuko raised a hand to his scar. It had been more than three years now.

"I know…what you mean."

"Don't act like you know what I mean! You will never know!"

Zuko felt anger rising in him.

"How do you think I got this scar? Do you think an Earthbender gave this to me?"

Sokka's rage subsided a little, to be replaced with curiosity. How had Zuko gotten his scar?

"Do you mean…did your sister…"

"No…my father..."

Sokka stared at the Fire Prince. He couldn't imagine a father doing that to his child. It was bad enough that Zuko had been banished from his home, but his own parent had done that to him. Zuko continued angrily.

"My father burned and banished me. My sister seemed to take it all in stride. My father always liked her better than me. She's a Firebending prodigy. He always said she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. And now I have to bring him the Avatar to regain my honor. My throne. My father."

Zuko stopped talking. He sank to his knees, his face to the ground. He started shaking.

"I've never been good enough for him."

Sokka looked at the prince with new eyes. Zuko had been charged with finding the Avatar to regain his life. He had been burned and disowned by his father. Sokka lowered his head.

"My father left my village two years before we found Aang. He and the other warriors went to help the Earth Kingdom. I wanted so badly to go with them. My father told me that my place was to watch over my sister. At the time, all I wanted to do was go fight with him, but now I see that my sister needs me. Aang needs me."

"So…you haven't seen your father in two and a half years?"

"No. Aang dropped me off at Chameleon Bay where the Water Tribe warriors were gathered. I was so nervous to be seeing him after almost three years. When I did see him, he welcomed me as a son and fellow warrior. We were about to go to battle together, when Aang came back and told me my sister was in danger. I wanted desperately to be with my father, but I was so worried about Katara."

"Your…I would have protected her."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought that you could care about anything other than yourself, Zuko."

Sokka's voice was cold. The idea of this…this _Firebender_ coming anywhere near to his sister was enraging.

"Our mother was killed by the Fire Nation! I wouldn't let someone like you close to her!"

Sokka was shouting now. His protective instinct was taking over. Zuko spoke softly, choosing his words carefully.

"My mother…disappeared. I don't know what happened to her, but the Fire Nation took her away from me."

"My loss is more important!"

Sokka's words shook with anger. Zuko looked down and was silent. Several seconds passed.

"I remember that you rescued the Earth king. Where is he?"

Sokka grinned. He couldn't help it.

"His bear tried to eat Momo. Aang kinda got angry. Or, he would have if he had been awake. Katara was the real force behind him leaving. I think she must have said something very mean to him. He was gone the next day."

Zuko smiled. Then started sniggering. Before he could stop himself, he was laughing.

"And she made him leave? Just like that?"

"Apparently."

Zuko help up a hand and then put it over his face.

"Wait. So you're telling me the bear tried to eat the lemur?"

"Yep. And next thing you know, Katara's yelling about this and that, and the Earth King's trying to apologize, and the bear's growling and hiding his face."

Zuko's sides shook with mirth.

"So it was an actual bear? Not a platypus bear?"

"Nope"

"Gopher Bear?"

"No. Just a regular bear."

"I see. The Earth Kingdom is weird."

Sokka fell silent at Zuko's words. He remembered that his friends and he had had this very same conversation. Zuko's voice ended his thoughts.

"Sokka, whose name did you scream?"

Sokka folded his arms across his chest.

"What? Name? I didn't shout any name."

"Yes, you did. Who's Yue?"

Sokka jumped to his feet, the anger flaring up again. He pointed his finger at Zuko.

"I don't talk about her to people like you!"

Sokka's shout echoed through the campsite.

"Sokka, you shouted it loud enough for a deaf hog monkey to hear. I wouldn't be surprised if you had woken everyone up."

"You know what? I wouldn't be surprised if I did. It is just Katara's style to lie awake and listen to the men tell stories. Isn't it, little sister?"

Sokka directed the last bit at Katara's sleeping form. She didn't stir. Sokka scratched his head.

"Hmm…either she's a very good at what she does or she's asleep."

"Or she's pouting because you caught her."

"That could be it too."

"Sokka, who's Yue?"

Sokka looked away from Zuko. When he looked back, his face was blank. He started talking, keeping his emotions hidden.

"Yue was the princess at the North Pole. When I first saw her, I thought she was beautiful. I still do. When Yue was born, she had a terrible illness. Her parents thought she would die. Her father placed her in the spirit oasis. When Zhao came to invade the North Pole, he succeeded in killing the Moon Spirit. The Waterbenders lost their power, and it seemed like the Fire Nation would win. Then Yue said that since the Moon Spirit had given her life, then perhaps she could give that life back. I tried to stop her. Her father had told me to protect her. And I…I…"

"You loved her."

"Yes. I loved her. She placed her hands on the fish-"

"Fish?"

"The Moon and Ocean Spirits were two koi fish. Those were their bodies in the natural world. When Yue placed her hands on the fish, I felt her go limp in my arms. The Spirit had taken her life."

Sokka's eyes were closed, the tears running freely. When he spoke, his voice was broken by emotion.

"I cried out. Then she appeared to me, and told me that she'd always be with me. Then…she was gone."

Zuko studied the young Water Tribe warrior before him. Sokka's sobs were shaking his body. His eyes, still squeezed shut, were spilling tears. Zuko looked away. Then his voice broke the silence. It was soft enough to not seem like his own.

"Sokka. I'm sorry."

A/N I just want to say that when I put "broken by emotion", I mean his voice sounded like Iroh's when he was singing "Leaves on the Vine" in front of Lu Ten's grave in "Tales of Ba Sing Se". R.I.P. Mako


	3. The Headband

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book Three: Fire

Chapter Two: The Headband

"AHHH! He's taunting us! You can tell!"

The Hog Monkey ran another lap around Sokka's snare before running off into the underbrush. Sokka jumped out of the tree, his breath coming in frustrated gasps. He walked up to the snare and kicked it.

"Stupid thing!"

Behind Sokka, Zuko dropped out of the tree. He watched Sokka continue to berate and abuse his trap. The Fire Prince sighed.

"You breathe too loudly, Sokka. Control your breath."

Sokka rounded on the prince, a vein on his forehead throbbing. He gave the snare another kick before snapping at Zuko.

"And I suppose you're the Breath Master, come to teach me?"

Sokka meant it sarcastically, as was his nature, but Zuko just chuckled good-naturedly. He put a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"Actually, I can teach you. You see, Firebending requires breath control. We inhale deeply, and then let our exhaled breath leave our bodies as fire."

Zuko took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and held it. Then he released it, two jets of fire shooting out of his hands. He did it again, only this time, he blew it out faster. The fire shot out of his hands and left two craters in the ground. Sokka jumped backwards.

"Whoa! Do all Firebenders hate the ground that much?"

Zuko couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. Sokka raised his eyebrow at the sight of the laughing prince.

"Um, Zuko? Since when have you laughed? Come to think of it, you were laughing quite a bit last night. What gives?"

"My sister hates me. My father burned and disowned me. I've had nothing to laugh about for years."

Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you about that. You said last night that your father was the one who burned you, but you didn't say why."

Zuko looked away from the warrior, his hands clenching into fists. He spoke, his voice harsh.

"My uncle used to say that both fire and trust take time to grow."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Please, Katara? Just a little bit?"

"No, Aang. You're still too weak to be Earthbending. And the way Toph teaches you…"

"Hey! What's wrong with the way I teach, Sugar Queen? I taught him to Earthbend, didn't I?"

The three were sitting on a ridge overlooking a small Earth Kingdom town. Or, they would have been, if the town hadn't been burned down in the early years of the war. The buildings, what was left of them, were completely overgrown. Mist hung heavy, giving the buildings a certain shapelessness that left them as simple silhouettes in the fog. It served Aang as a sad reminder that he WAS 100 years late for this war, and that he would have to recover quickly to help a world that still needed its Avatar. He had been sitting pondering his future when the girls had joined him. His first warnings were the shouts he could hear coming toward him. Before he knew it, they had fallen on him.

From what Aang was able to pick up, Toph had wanted to dedicate the day to teaching him some more advanced Earthbending, but Katara had simply put her foot down; Aang was still too weak to learn anything. Toph had marched right up to Aang and asked him if he wanted to learn some new moves. Aang, of course, said yes. At that, Katara had butted right in and gave him her thoughts.

"Aang, it's only been four days since Azula struck you with lightning. I'm amazed that you're recovering so fast, but who knows what effects Earthbending will have on your body right now. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Katara didn't tell him that she had just gotten over the shock of seeing him electrocuted, and that she couldn't go through seeing him like that again. Of course, Earthbending didn't use lightning, but Toph _had_ pushed a boulder at Aang. What if he couldn't stop it this time? What if…? She shuddered at the thought.

Aang, on the other hand, had wanted to learn some more Earthbending moves, so when Katara intervened, he had argued, which had led them to where they were.

"Sugar Queen! What is it with you and these stupid nicknames? Why can't you just call me Katara?"

Aang decided to put in his two copper pieces.

"I think it's cute, Katara."

At this, Katara rounded on him.

"Yeah? Well, I'm glad one of us does."

Aang watched her retreating form, and then turned to Toph.

"What is it with you and nicknames?"

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"When we arrived at the North Pole, the Waterbenders led us through the canals. That was where I first saw her. Princess Yue. I promised myself that I would get to know her better. I got my chance when she sat next to me at the banquet that the chief had thrown to honor Katara, Aang, and I visiting. I introduced myself, and proceeded to tell her that I was almost like a prince myself."

Zuko scoffed.

"You? Prince of what?"

Sokka snorted in disbelief. Everybody could see through that one.

"A lot of things. Do ya mind? I'm trying to tell a story here."

Zuko mock-bowed.

"My apologies, Prince Sokka."

_Guy's more and more like Katara the more I get to know him._ Sokka thought to himself.

Anyway, she asked me to meet her on a bridge at sundown. When I showed up, she apologized and ran. I didn't understand until the next day. I thought that she had rejected me because of some stupid class thing, but then she kissed me. And showed me her betrothal necklace. She was getting married."

"If she was getting married, then why…?"

"It was an arranged marriage. The guy in question was a real jerk. His name was Hahn, and we immediately didn't see eye-to-eye. I was to _advise_ him on the strengths of the Fire Navy. I told them about the uniforms. I told them about Zhao. And I didn't get to lead. And Hahn was a horrible leader. I mean, he even get Zhao's name wrong. How?"

Zuko could hear the hatred in Sokka voice. He had loathed this _Hahn_. Was it just because of Hahn's apparent non-existent leadership skills…or…?

"…and the guy didn't even love Yue. He said she was _nice, _but that the real _perks_ came from the status he would get with the chief. That's all he cared about. I loved Yue! But because of her position, she had a duty to her father and people, and wouldn't break it, not even for me."

Zuko just inclined his head. He had to admit, he was hooked. Sokka continued.

"And then Zhao killed the Moon Spirit."

Zuko nodded.

"I remember. When the moon went dark?"

"Yes. Iroh was there. He observed that Yue had been touched by the Moon Spirit's life force. She decided to give it back. I held her as she…slipped away."

Zuko moved over and put a hand on Sokka's shoulder. He felt and heard the sobs coming from the warrior.

"Breath, Sokka. In through the nose, out through the mouth."

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An hour later, Sokka and Zuko marched back into camp. Surprisingly, it was deserted. Sokka marched over to the fire and unloaded the fish he had caught. In the end, they had given up on wild game and gone fishing. Sokka had enjoyed this, mainly because Zuko was so horrible. He laughed every time Zuko had pathetically tried to cast his line out. Zuko had gotten angry after just a few tries and had taken to flinging balls of fire at the water. A few of them were so hot that they had thrown up a large amount t of steam before being doused.

"Ok, _Zuzu_. I did my part. You're up."

Zuko threw himself down.

Don't call me that. Azula calls me that."

"Ok, sorry, Your Fieryness. Just do your thing."

Muttering under his breath, Zuko lit the fire and threw a fish on it. Sokka pulled it off again and paid it back on the pile.

"Watch and learn."

Sokka pulled a stick of his bag and thrust the fish onto it. He then stuck the end of the stick into the sand and angled it over the fire.

"You see? Now we just wait."

Sokka rummaged through his pack and came up with a bundle. Zuko leaned over and watched him unwrap it. Sokka slowly pulled the wrapping away to reveal a beautiful arctic blue headband. It was woven from silk and had the Water Tribe embalm: a circle comprised of a waning crescent moon and three wavy horizontal lines.

"My father gave this to me when I saw him a few days ago. He said that it was his when he was my age."

Zuko could just stare at the cloth. Before he could say anything, he heard a noise at the edge of their campsite. Sokka looked around. From out of the brush came Toph, looking in high bad humor.

"Ohhh, those two!"

Toph stomped he foot and sat down. Her sightless eyes turned to Zuko.

"Sokka is that…"

"Yep. It's Zuko."

"_The_ Zuko?"

"Yes."

Toph pointed a finger at Zuko.

"Listen, Hot Streak. You keep your Fire to yourself, and I won't feel the need to crush you with a rock."

Zuko looked about to make an angry reply, when Sokka jumped it.

"What are you so mad about, Toph?"

The young Earthbender looked over her shoulder, then back to the other two.

"Oh, Katara won't let me teach Aang any more Earthbending until he's better, whenever that is."

"And is she teaching him any Waterbending?"

"I don't really know. I'd be real mad if she was. If fact, you can ask her. I can feel them coming."

As she spoke, Katara and Aang crested a hill and came into view. They were halfway to the camp site when Katara spotted Zuko. Before they could react, her water pouch was empty and a ball of water held in her hands. Zuko jumped to his feet and did something with his hands. Fire suddenly blossomed all around him. Sokka spoke in a little voice.

"This…ought to be fun."


	4. The Headband Part Two

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book Three: Fire

Chapter Two: The Headband

Part Two

"**What** is he doing here?"

Zuko looked up at the Water Tribe girl. She was facing him, holding a ball of water in her hands. He didn't fear her Waterbending. He knew that she wouldn't hurt him. Not without good reason. The problem was; she apparently did have good reason, because she turned the ball to ice, and the ice into spikes, which she hurled at him. Zuko was ready for this, however, and reacted just in time. He quickly inhaled and exhaled, raising his hands as he did. Flames suddenly flared up around him. As the Avatar's friends watched, the ice turned to water, the water to steam. The flames died back down, revealing Zuko. He shouted now, his fiery temper adding heat to his words.

"_You_ rescued _me_, peasant!"

Katara's eyes blazed hatred and pain as she yelled, giving her voice power as she screamed at Zuko.

"I didn't! I never would have! You have the Avatar to thank!"

Zuko tore his eyes from the furious Waterbender and looked at Aang. He saw the truth of Katara's words, hidden in Aang's eyes. The young Avatar looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet, the clear picture of an animal caught in a trap. Zuko let the fire, both in front of him and inside him, burn down.

"Avatar…why?"

"Yes, Aang…why?"

Tears were flowing down Katara's cheeks now, for so terrible was her rage.

"He turned against us! He allowed you to be injured, almost killed! I hate him!"

Aang looked up. His eyes shone in the dimming light. His clothes rustled it the breeze. Then he spoke.

"I couldn't leave him. Not like that."

"Why not, Aang? He tried to kill you. I don't want to lose you."

Katara felt torn up inside. She loved Aang; she knew that now, but he had rescued one of their greatest enemies. She wouldn't give Zuko the chance to hurt Aang. She wouldn't go through seeing him lying motionless with a burn covering part of his body. Maybe next time she wouldn't be able to do anything except watch him die. The very thought made her shiver. She turned her attention back to Zuko.

"So what are you going to do, Zuko? Kill us?"

Her harsh voice made Sokka wince. He had never heard his baby sister talk this way…to anyone. He knew she was overly protective, but this might be taking it a bit too far. She had attacked Zuko without being provoked. But, then again, he hadn't exactly been kind to them over the year that he had been chasing Aang. But the Zuko Sokka knew was different. Calmer, sharing, even fun. Was it all an act? Was he really just after Aang, like he usually was? Sokka had so many questions. Zuko's voice rang out over his thoughts.

"No."

Katara gave a shout of disbelief.

"You expect me to believe that? And then you kill us in our sleep!"

"I've been here for two days. If I was going to murder you, I'd have done it already."

"Maybe you're just biding your time. Waiting for us to trust you. But I will never trust you. I hate you!"

Aang felt a certain pang of surprise. He didn'tremember when Katara had ever said that; she was just to nice. He knew what _he _would feel like if he was on the receiving end of those words.But Zuko didn't care about Katara the way he did, so he didn't that Katara hadn't ever said that to anyone. Aang walked up behind Katara, planning to place a hand on her shoulder and speak some comforting words. Before he could, Katara whipped around.

"Come on, Aang. We're leaving them alone."

Seizing Aang's hand, Katara stormed away, stealing a furious glance at Zuko over her shoulder.

Toph could feel them moving farther away, until they came to a halt at where she knew a creek was. So Aang hoped to cheer her up with some Waterbending? She pitied him. The Water Tribe girl could get pretty brutal with the water when she was mad. Toph had no idea what Katara would be like in her currant enraged state, but she guessed not pleasant. She sighed and tuned in Sokka and Zuko's conversation.

"…your fault. She's been real emotional these last two weeks. I personally think she's suffered almost as much as Aang has. I know he had his whole race wiped out while he was in that iceberg, but her boyfriend as good as died right in front of her eyes."

Toph reflected silently. She remembered. How he had told Katara he'd be fine. Toph could feel his heartbeat. He was lying. She hadn't the heart to tell Katara. The poor Waterbender had found out, of course, while they were on their way back to Ba Sing Se. She had spent the whole trip sobbing her eyes out on Sokka's shoulder. Sokka, despite being the sarcastic guy he was, hadn't said a word as he held his crying baby sister to him.

"Boyfriend?"

"Do you remember Jet, Zuko?"

"The boy who picked a fight with me?"

"Wait. someone picked a fight with you? Did he have two hook swords?"

"Yes."

"That's Jet"

"And he and Katara were…?"

"For the sake of the story…yes."

"What happened?"

"Zuko…listen to this."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"…and Sokka trusts him!"

"Katara, I think Sokka and Zuko are…friends."

Katara was sitting at the edge of a creek. Aang was splashing in the water, trying to get the hang of a new Waterbending move. Katara was supposed to be helping him, but all she was doing was going on a rant about Zuko.

"He turned against us! I thought he changed! I even offered…"

Her voice trailed off as Aang let the water fall back into the creek with a slash. He turned to face her, his eyes questioning her.

"What? Offered to do what, Katara?"

"I-offered to heal his scar."

"WHAT!"

Katara shrank back from the Avatar. His eyes briefly flashed white, before returning to their normal storm grey. Aang marched out of the water, a gust of controlled air drying him off as he did so. He took his shirt from Katara and pulled it over his shoulders. He sank down next to her and offered his hand. She took it and squeezed a little before letting go.

"Katara, he's been chasing us all the way from the South Pole. He wants me, and he won't stop until he gets me. Have you forgotten what he did to you at the Spirit Oasis? He could have burned you; even worse than I did! He could have really hurt you. Why did you offer?"

Katara looked out over the water. The sun was setting, and it cast a beautiful golden glow on the surface. She though before speaking; her words carefully chosen.

"At first I yelled at him. I was so angry at everything the Fire Nation has done; everything they have taken away from me."

Here she paused, to wipe two tears away. Aang wrapped his hand around her own. He gave it a gentle squeeze. Katara looked at him and then at their joined hands before speaking again.

"I told him about wh-what the Fire Nation d-did to m-m-mom."

Katara fought hard against the tears, but they were coming, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. Bravely, she continued on.

"He told me that the Fire Nation had taken his mother, though he didn't say where. I told him that every time I imagined the face of the enemy, it was his face. Then I offered to heal him."

Aang nodded. He felt admiration for this woman who sat beside him. After everything he had done, she had forgiven Zuko; even offering to heal him.

"And then what happened?"

"And then you came."

Aang thought back. Uncle Iroh and he had blasted through the wall of the cavern. He had rushed to Katara and thrown his arms around her. He was so happy to find that she was OK. He had then glared at Zuko. What was HE doing here? Why was he in the same cell with Katara? His memory came in flashes after that…being surrounded by the Dai Li…Azula appearing…Zuko at her side…encasing himself in crystal…the heartbreak of trying to let Katara go so he could reach the Avatar State…rising…the look of awe and hope on Katara's face…and then…pain…horrible pain…black…the world was made of black and pain…and then…a soothing feel of wetness on his back…blurry…Katara's grief stricken face…her smile as she saw his face.

A single tear fell from Aang's eye as he remembered. As much as he didn't want to, he pulled his hand away from Katara's. He got up and walked a short distance. He could feel her eyes on his back.

"Katara, I have something to tell you."

"What is it, Aang?"

"It's about the Avatar State."

"Did you learn to control it?"

"I really don't think it matters now, do you?"

Katara drew back a little at the harshness of his statement. Or maybe it was the tone of voice he was using.

"I'm sorry-"

"No, Katara. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped."

Moments passed between the two. Katara thought of the past. Of Jet. Of Aang's rage. Of how he had reacted at the market when he had seen Jet holding her hand. The empty look in Jet's eyes when he tried to lie about what waht he had done. The Jet's blank stare when he had reliezed that he had lost everything by lying.

Aang's voice came to her, interrupting her thoughts. His words were rushed.

"Katara, when I went to the temple, I met with Guru Pathik, who told me that I had to unlock seven chakras in my body to master the Avatar State. I did fine until the final one. I had to let go of my Earthly attachments. And, for me, that was you. Even if it would allow me to enter the Avatar State at will, I couldn't do it."

"Aang…are you saying…?"

'I couldn't let go of you. Even if mastering the Avatar State was the only way to protect you, I just couldn't do it. And now I don't think I ever can."

Katara looked at the boy. Even though he was an extremely powerful bender; and would, with time, be the best in the world, she saw him for what he truly was: just a twelve-year-old boy.

"Aang, come sit by me."

The Avatar turned and looked at her. He slowly started walking, dragging his feet, his head down. When he reached her, he looked right into her eyes. She saw the love and affection that she was blind to before. She opened her arms and beckoned him. He effectively fell into them. She felt his arms around her waist. And she could feel his tears on her shoulder.

Wordlessly, she held the world's last great hope; a child who had been tasked with an enormous responsibility, and let him cry out all his troubles on her shoulder.


	5. Sokka's Story: Earth and Fire

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Two Point Five: Sokka's Story**

**Part A: Earth and Fire**

A/N This is a flashback scene. It will be written like a normal chapter. MyOtherName commented on how he couldn't remember Jet kissing Katara in the series. That's because he didn't. This is a little side story I have made up for this fan FICTION. Hope you guys enjoy Sokka's Story! BTW, it's called Sokka's Story because he's the one telling it, even if it's written like a normal chapter. The Story is mainly about Jet and Katara. Don't worry; this is still a Kataang story. The Jetara might get a little brutal, but bare with me.

P.S. Thanks for the reviews so far; even if it's only seven. It makes writing all the more fun. Kudos to MyOtherName for the nice long comment.

The chilly evening air filled the house. Katara looked up from the table where she was playing Earth and Fire with her brother. Toph was sitting, quietly for a change, levitating some rocks. Katara was not fooled, however. Toph was bored, quite possibly suffering from more boredom then Sokka and herself. A look of concentration was plastered on Sokka's face as he contemplated his next move. Earth and Fire was his favorite game. It was a strategic game of sorts; the object being to capture the Earth King as the Fire Nation; or to defeat the Fire Lord as the Earth Kingdom. The game had been created strictly as an Earth Kingdom game. There was nothing to indicate either the Water Tribe or the Air Nomads. Furthermore, the Avatar was not in the game at all. It was silly when one thought about it; the Avatar being around for who knows how long, and not even put into a children's game. Of course, the game was also popular among Earth teenagers with an inborn hatred of the Fire Nation. The game's obvious propagandist intentions also suggested that it was used to swell the Earth Kingdom's ranks with Earthbenders and soldiers, fresh from their family farms and unknowledgeable about the horrors of war. That being said, the complete lack of the Water Tribe did somehow get to Sokka, but he still loved the game. There were so many ways to attack, and so many counters to those attacks, and then even more counters to those counters. It was, simply put, a great game. The only problem was someone, in this case Sokka, had to be the Fire Nation.

Sokka scratched his head. It was his turn. The start of each turn allowed for the distribution of some free troops depending on how many of the game "regions" the player controlled. The definition of region in this game was an area of several square miles, minimized in the game world, naturally. The game also featured 10 major cities and 12 smaller towns. Each settlement captured awarded a certain number of troops per turn to the player. Omashu gave six normal soldiers and four Firebenders. Ba Sing Se came with eight foot soldiers and six Firebenders. A player could also capture three more regions for an extra foot soldier and Firebender. This added up to quite a lot, what with there being over one hundred regions to acquire, not counting those with a major city or town located on them. Both players started out with five regions and two settlements: a city and a town. The rest was up to them. To gain control over a region, the invading player, in this case Sokka, would have to move his troops to the region, and then the dice came into play.

The deciding factor in the game was the dice set that came with the game. All actions required a player to win a dice toss by getting a higher number then the opponent. If, for example, Sokka wanted to take over an Earth Kingdom region with no soldiers in it, he would simply have to move his troops in and roll. Because there were no earth Kingdom troops stationed there, Katara only got one roll to try to stop him. Sokka, who had moved four foot soldiers to attack the territory, would roll four times; once for each soldier he was attacking with. If Katara's dice roll beat Sokka's, she would kill his soldier. How an unmanned region killed his soldiers, Sokka never knew. Of course, the game could get very long if it followed that policy, which is why the game makers had decided that once a player attacked with five or more soldiers, then they would only roll once. If Katara's unmanned region dice roll then beat Sokka's five man dice roll, then one man would die, and he would take the region. The game was slightly confusing to a newcomer, but both Water Tribe siblings had been quick to pick up on how to play.

Sokka currently had control of half the board. He liked to think he was better than his sister at this type of game, but the truth was that they were pretty evenly matched. He was eyeing a large force of Earthbenders and foot soldiers that Katara had positioned right outside Ba Sing Se, which he controlled at this moment. He, naturally, kept quite a bit of his own forces in Ba Sing Se, so he decided to deal with her. He moved his troops out. He quickly did a count. Twenty-five foot soldiers and thirty Firebenders. She wouldn't know what hit her.

"Attack on the Oom-Sha region"

In total, Katara's troops numbered only fifteen foot soldiers and twenty Earthbenders, but she knew she could hold him. Plus, she had a special something up her sleeve. Sokka rolled the dice, the outcome of with was a perfect roll; six on each side for a total of twelve. This beat Katara's eight easily and wiped out two thirds of her soldiers. However, it was her turn. She rolled…eleven! She also played her trump card.

In Earth and Fire, Benders were treated differently then normal soldiers. A player could earn a card for every three Benders he or she received. If a played got more than three Benders per turn, then that player would earn more cards. Certain cards combined to allow the player to perform certain Bender specific moves. For example, two "Rock" cards and one "Loose Sand" card let the Earth player start an avalanche, which added twenty to their roll. So, effectively, Katara had rolled a thirty-one. Sokka, however, was playing just as dirty as she was. While the game had been designed in the Earth Kingdom, the creators had given the Firebenders the same essential ability. Sokka countered with two "Magma" cards and a "Volcano" card, which gave the Fire Nation a meteor. Sokka added the bonus to his own dice roll, which turned out to be…eleven. Both brother and sister were left with thirty-one. Until Katara played a "Rock" and "Pile of Gravel" card. The "Rock Shield" allowed her to subtract fifteen from Sokka's roll, which brought it down to sixteen. Unfortunately for Sokka, he had used all his cards for that turn. He could only watch as Katara wiped out his forces and took Ba Sing Se back from his control. The game continued in silence. Katara gained more and more ground. Soon, Sokka was left with only the Fire Palace and a single battalion of Firebenders left. Katara was quick to end the game, leaving Sokka staring dumbfounded at the board; then started muttering.

"Dumb game's made in the Earth Kingdom, of course I'm gonna lose."

"Can you just admit your defeat without a single complaint?"

"I'm just saying, you won because _you_ were the Earth player."

"Ohh? And does that explain why I beat you last week as the Fire Nation?"

"No. But last week you were cheating."

"Can't you just except that I might be better then you?"

"No."

"Will you two give it a rest?"

Two pairs of eyes fell on the young Avatar, standing in the doorway, the brisk evening breeze ruffling his clothes. He stood looking out at the house across from them, deep in thought. Katara got up from the table and approached Aang. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Aang, we know where Appa is, we'll get him back."

"When? I want him back now."

"Well, we have a good idea where he is. Jet said Lake Laogai…"

"So why aren't we going?"

"Didn't I tell you? Those two from his gang are scouting it out. Jet said that there were lots of Dai Li agents around."

Aang turned to face her. His face was contorted with rage. When he spoke, his voice was harder then he meant it.

"Jet said. Jet said! Why do you believe him all of a sudden?"

"Aang, it's the best lead we have."

"No! It's the best lead Jet has. I still think Appa's in the city. Jet never said he saw Appa at Lake Laogai."

"Aang, I want to find Appa _just_ as much as you…"

Aang suddenly reached up and grasped Katara's hand, which was still on his shoulder, he held it for a minute, maybe two, slowly caressing it. He hadn't meant to snap at Katara, but what had made her trust Jet so surely? The last time she had seen him, she hated him for what he almost did. Aang let her hand drop and turned to close the door.

"I'm sorry for yelling, Katara. I'm just tired. Good night."

"Good night, Aang."

"Sleep tight, buddy."

Aang moved away from the two siblings and towards his room. On the way, he almost ran into Toph, still levitating rocks. She was in a foul mood, even for her.

"Can't you watch where you're going, Twinkle Toes?"

Aang stifled a yawn. It was getting late. He just wanted to get to bed.

" 'm sorry, Toph. Just tired. Night."

"Night."

The young Airbender opened the door to his room. He walking in and sat on the bed. While he was grateful to Jet for his assistance in finding Appa, something kept him from believing Jet. Maybe it was the act that Jet had been his friend too, and had betrayed him as well. Looking back on it, he didn't fail to notice the crush that Katara had apparently had on Jet. At the time, he hadn't really noticed. He was just happy to be Jet's friend too. Now, however, he could feel the jealousy burning within him, even over these memories. He sincerely hoped that Katara wasn't starting to fall for Jet again. He thought he could pick up subtle signs. After all, it had been two days after they had proven that Jet had been brainwashed and broken the Dai Li's hold on him. Now that he had his mind back, he had turned right back into smooth talking Jet. Aang wouldn't have minded so much, but he knew Katara had preferred Jet to him. He knew Jet was older, taller, and stronger then he was, but he had always thought that Katara would forget him after he betrayed her.

It turned out that she _hadn't _forgotten Jet. Aang had had enough after she had spent yesterday afternoon searching the streets with Jet while Sokka, Toph and he had searched elsewhere. Both groups had found nor heard anything about Appa. Aang had returned feeling alone and dejected, and had sunken more into a depression when Katara had returned home with Jet. She had invited him in, but he had politely refused, saying that he really had to get back to his apartment. Katara had watched Jet until he was out of sight, and Aang had watched Katara until she had turned around.

That night, Aang had had a nightmare. He was in the Avatar State, and, as usual, Katara had been by his side, trying to calm him down. Only this time, he didn't calm down. He had turned on her and raise is hands. Fire had leapt out of his hands, covering her. When it had finally dispersed, Katara was lying on the ground, motionless. Aang had run over to her and shook her. His mind was then flooded with Sokka's image, blaming him, yelling at him.

_What did you do?_

_You burned my sister!_

Aang had awoken in a cold sweat. He was surprised to see that the sun was already up. He picked himself up and walked into the kitchen, still shirtless. He immediately spotted a note on the table. He had picked it up. What he had read had torn him up inside.

_Toph, Sokka, and Aang,_

_Went out with Jet to search for more clues. Will return with food. Tell Sokka he stills needs to__ apologize to that merchant._

_Love,_

_Katara_

Aang had crumpled the note in his fist, his eyes and tattoos had flashed white before he had thrown the paper on the floor and walked back to his room. Aang closed the door and sank onto his bed. He knew it must be early, but why had Katara get up even eariler? Did she really want to see Jet that badly? Aang laid his head down, seething with anger. He'd talk to her when she got back. He closed his eyes...


	6. Sokka's Story: The Fury of Aang

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Two Point Five: Sokka's Story**

**Part B: The Fury of Aang**

A/N Thanks to those who where kind enough to review. And to MyOtherName, keep the long comments coming; in fact, the longer the better. I love reading them. And to all of you who may have guessed at the board game, I based it off of Risk. I have a version on my computer called Conquest, and I must say: it's addicting. If the who dice thing confused you a bit, it's because Conquest simulates the dice rolls, so I don't really have to deal with it. But I hope you enjoyed reading about it. And about the title, I'm pretty sure that Nick released The Desert and The Drill as a special T.V. event with the same name, but I thought it would make a pretty good chapter name, considering what Aang does. Heavy Jetara doses, but I swear it'll get very Kataang soon. Just hang in there!

_"You muzzled Appa?"_

_The young Avatar's anger grew even more. How dare they muzzle his pet! Before he could stop himself, his eyes and tattoos began glowing white. He summoned a gust of wind, directing it at a sand sailor. The sailor blew apart, its many pieces exploding to land far away from each other; Aang looked back at the Sandbender who, according to Toph, had taken his pet._

_"I'm sorry; I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar."_

_The Sandbender was stalling for time. Aang didn't need Toph to tell him that this man was lying. He pointed his staff at the Sandbender._

_"Where is he?"_

_"I traded him to some merchants; he's probably in Ba Sing Se by now. They were going to sell him there."_

_Aang's eyes narrowed. This was not good news. The Sandbender__ kept pleading._

_"Please! We'll escort you out of the desert. We'll help however we can!"_

_For Aang it was the breaking point. He wanted Appa back…NOW! Wind and sand began to swirl around him. Sokka grabbed Toph and continued to move forward._

_"Just get out of here. Run!"_

_A sphere of air formed around Aang. Sand whipped around, caught in the terrible fury of his power. The sandstorm grew and grew. Aang felt himself lift off the ground. He rose into the air as the sandstorm raged around him. All of a sudden, he felt a hand on his arm. He turned his head. Katara was standing by him. Her eyes displayed overwhelming concern and fear. Not a fear for herself; she was afraid for him. He recognized her, but in his furious state, he couldn't differentiate between friend and foe. Everyone was against him. He gestured, and the ground beneath Katara's feet softened. She sank up to her knees._

_"Aang, please!"_

_Aang continued to glare at her, watching her sink. The quicksand was up to her waist now._

_"Aang! I'm your friend!"_

_She was sunken up to her neck now._

_"Please, Aang! I want to help."_

_The tears __fell from Katara's eyes. __Her__ face slowly sank beneath the sand, her eyes showing him into her mind. The pain that she felt, dying at the hand of the one person she thought would never hurt her. The person she loved. The Avatar._

_Aang watched her descend out of sight with a look of cold fury on his face. He watched as she reached out her hand in a vain plea for help. He laughed as the sand swallowed her up, along with her last words_

_"Aang, I lov-"_

_She was violently cut off as her head disappeared…forever. Aang smiled to himself; before dropping to the ground and turning in the direction of Ba Sing Se._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aang awoke with a start. He shot bolt upright in bed, breath coming in short gasps. Sweat was running down his brow, and he felt as if he had run for a whole day.

"Katara."

The Avatar spoke to no one in particular, but saying her name seemed to help the memory of the nightmare fade. He had no doubt about what his dream meant; it was something that he had been afraid of for quite some time. Aang sighed. He knew that there was always that risk, and his responsibility, the Avatar's responsibility, was one he did not choose or want; for this very reason.

Aang throw the blanket off his body. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his bare chest. He then went in search of the other inhabitants of the house. He found Sokka and Toph in the living room. They were sitting on opposite sides of the room. Toph was eating a mango, and Sokka was watching her hungrily. Sokka licked his lips and decided once again to try his luck.

"Please, Toph? Please, please, please?"

"No, Sokka. I haven't eaten anything all day."

"Neither have I. Please, Toph?"

"No."

Aang moved into the kitchen. Apart from Momo sitting on the table, it was deserted. Aang walked up to the lemur and scratched him under the chin.

"Morning, boy."

Momo chattered what sounded like a greeting and nibbled at Aang's fingers. Aang laughed and pulled his hand away.

"No. I don't have any food. That's why I'm here."

Momo hopped up on Aang's shoulder and rode as Aang walked over to the cupboard and looked it. Slightly disappointed, he moved to the next cupboard. Now feeling slightly dejected, he checked the big cabinet that Katara also used to store food in. Defeated, Aang closed the door and walked back to his friends. By now, Toph had finished her mango and Sokka was sitting with his arms crossed, muttering about the lack of food in the house. Aang pointed over his shoulder as he spoke.

"Where's all the food that Katara bought?"

Sokka offered a grunt and turned to face the wall. Toph sighed and pointed at Sokka.

"Ask Piggles over there."

Aang turned his attention to Sokka. The Water Tribe warrior was still muttering.

"Sokka?"

Sokka cracked an eye open.

"Wasn't me."

"Ahh! It was to, you lying Hog Monkey turd."

Sokka glanced over at Toph.

"Nice, Toph. Very mature."

Toph threw her hands in the air.

"Well, I'm not the one who ate all the food."

"Neither am I."

Aang bit back his cutting retort. His stomach was rumbling and he was more than a little frustrated. On his shoulder, Momo chattered loudly. Aang pointed up at him.

"You see, Momo's hungry too. It doesn't matter who ate the food. Who's going to get more?"

Sokka folded his arms once more and turned his head, still muttering about his empty stomach. Aang turned to the blind Earthbender.

"Toph?"

"Count me out, Twinkle Toes. I've already had my breakfast."

"Sokka?"

"Aang, why should I buy some more food when I wasn't the one who ate the food we had?"

Aang thought for a moment.

"Because you're a good person?"

"HA! My sister tries that one on me. If it doesn't work for her, what makes you think it'll work for you?"

"Fine. I guess I'll go get some food. Momo and I are both hungry."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, Katara, you can open your eyes."

Katara did so. When the world swam into focus, she saw Jet in front of her holding a beautiful blue flower. It was lighter blue on the outsides of the petals, with bands of dark blue running up the insides of the petals. Katara practically squealed with joy.

"Oh, Jet. It's beautiful."

"That's not all I got you. Here."

Jet handed Katara a small box. She opened it to reveal a necklace with a single black gemstone on it. Before she could touch it, Jet took the box from her and pulled the necklace out. He held it up to the light, where it sparkled.

"It's a _jet_ stone. Now you can take me with you all the time."

Katara took the gemstone from him. When she did, Jet wrapped her hand in his. Katara blushed. Hadn't she wanted this to happen sooner? Jet let go of her hand and walked a short distance to a merchant selling meat. Katara walked up behind him.

"It's a nice necklace, Jet. But don't you think we're moving too fast?"

Jet turned to her. He grabbed both her hands in his.

"So I can't get you anything nice, Katara?"

"Well, yes, but this is…"

"You deserve it. You're beautiful, Katara."

Katara felt her heart speed up; until she was fairly sure Jet could hear it beating. But she wasn't so sure if she cared. She could feel the hat rising in her face. Jet leaned in closer to her. She felt her breath freeze in her lungs. This couldn't be happening…

Jet stopped an inch from Katara's lips. He knew that this aloofness would keep her interested in him. And one thing he did want in his new life was Katara interested in him. The very thought of her made his heart beat faster.

"Let's get some breakfast, Kat."

Katara was so caught up in the moment that she didn't even protest to his pet name for her. They started walking. Jet had told her where this "great little restaurant" was, and that she just _had_ to go there. Jet offered his hand, which Katara took. She felt completely happy.

The two continued to walk in the general direction that Jet had said the restaurant was in. But Katara was far too caught up in holding this handsome boy's hand then where they were going. She heard a "whoosh" and a familiar shadow passed over their heads. She looked up and saw none other than Aang flying overhead. As she watched, he angled his glider down and descended to the street, several paces in front of them. The young monk folded his glider into his staff and started walking…in the direction that she and Jet were headed. She didn't really want to attract his attention right now, but Jet smiled and hailed the Airbender.

"Hey, Aang!"

Aang turned around, his grey eyes seeking for who had called his name. When he saw Katara and Jet, his eyes momentary lit up, and a smile crossed his face. The smile slid off his face to be replaced by up ugly grimace when he saw their clasped hands. But a second later, Katara was sure she had imagined it, because he was smiling again. He walked over to her and Jet.

"Hey, guys. Where are you headed?"

It was Jet who spoke for them.

"We're going to breakfast at this great little restaurant."

"Is it far?"

"Not too far. What about you? What brings the Avatar here?"

"You mean as in 'out right now'?"

"Yeah."

"All the food's gone from our house. Sokka said he didn't do it, but he's a more likely suspect then Toph."

"No kidding. That kid practically inhales food."

A small distraction appeared in the form of Momo, who landed on Aang's shoulder. Aang gave the lemur a scratch between the ears.

"So Momo and I are looking for food."

Jet scratched his chin for a bit.

"Well, there's a café back that way."

"Thanks, Jet. That sounds alright. Have fun, Katara."

Katara only nodded at him. Jet led her away from Aang. A sudden breeze whipped through the narrow street. Katara shivered and drew closer to Jet. She didn't know it, but a set of storm grey eyes where watching her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aang stood rooted to the spot watching Jet and _his _Katara round the corner. Who did Jet think he was? He had only come back into their lives for a few days, and he already was miles ahead of Aang. What had they done together? Kissed? Had Jet told Katara those three little words that Aang himself couldn't muster up the courage to say?

Aang's stomach interrupted his thoughts with a large growl. Oh yeah, he was hungry. He sighed, than started walking in the direction that Jet had pointed out. The more he thought about it, the more upset he got. What would he do now? The girl of his dreams had just walked off with Jet! Tall, handsome Jet! How could he; a single, skinny monk of only thirteen, hope to compare? Sure, he was the Avatar, but that didn't mean anything. So he could move some earth, make some fancy splashes, and fashion a scooter out of air. Who cared? Apparently not Katara. He stopped when someone called his name.

"Young Avatar, may I have a word?"

Aang looked over at the speaker. It was a man in his mid forties. He approached Aang, who was in no mood to be asked a favor.

"What do you want?"

The man bowed, dipping his head lower then was really necessary.

"Noble Avatar, I request your assistance. My daughter was accosted by a man last night. Would you be kind enough to help us catch the man?"

Aang turned from the man, Jet and Katara fresh in his mind. His answer came in a tone that was darker then his own.

"No. Not my problem."

The man grabbed Aang's shoulder before he could walk off.

"Please. You're the Avatar…"

"I know I'm the Avatar! And I don't want to help with your stupid problems. Why can't you people do anything for yourselves?"

Aang was shouting before he knew it. All his rage from seeing Katara holding Jet's hand was flowing out his mouth, which was still pointed at this poor fellow. In what must have been a rage-induced hallucination, suddenly Jet stood before him, asking for his help.

"Aang, someone has hurt Katara. Will you help-"

"It was probably you! You hurt Katara!"

His eyes suddenly flared bright white. The man backed hastily away, but it was too late. Aang swung his staff. Jet was picked off his feet and slammed into the brick wall of the building behind him. Aang heard several cracks; Jet screamed out in pain and rage. Aang heard shouts and murmurs from the crowd around him. He spun to face them.

"What are you looking at? He hurt her!"

Aang sent a concentrated burst of air at a fruit stand across the street. The stand erupted, spilling the fruit everywhere. He spun, directing a fissure towards another stand. This one was selling urns and vases. As the fissure struck, most of the glassware shattered and struck several nearby persons. Aang stood breathing heavily, his anger subsiding. The glow dissipated from his eyes. Aang shook his head to clear out the cobwebs. Jet slowly faded to be replaced by the man he had assaulted. Aang looked around in shock. Had he done this? Momo flew to the ground next to him. He looked up at Aang, chattering inquisitively. Aang looked at the lemur.

"What have I done, Momo?"


	7. Sokka's Story: Jet Lag

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Two Point Five: Sokka's Story**

**Part C: Jet Lag**

A/N Yes, I know that Aang was OoC that last chapter. And I know not many of you will forgive me for that. For those of you that do, thank you. I know it's kind of in bad taste to take a character out of his mannerisms that were established on the show, but I _am_ dealing with a situation that the show hasn't covered yet: Aang jealous. The show never specified how Aang would act if he saw Katara with another guy; much less holding hands with said guy. I know, some people might think it's a little extreme to have Aang go into the Avatar State, but hey, he just had his little heart broken. And then someone asked him for help. I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't take very kindly to _anyone_ asking me for help after something like that happened. Hope you enjoy. I'll try my best to get Aang back into character. Remember, this is just a back story of sorts. It will have some Kataang in it at the end, and then much more when I get back on track. Sound good? Read and Review, please.

Aang sat in his room, listening to the rain pound on the roof of their house. He was going over everything that had happened in the last few hours. Although it was only two hours after midday, the sky was black and the rain was heavy. Aang had slowly walked back to the house earlier, his tears mixing with the rain that was running down his face.

How could Katara do that to him? Why had she taken to Jet so quickly? Would he betray her again? The questions flooded through Aang's mind. So many questions, and he did not nearly have enough answers. He thought back to the market place. His insides had frozen up at the sight of Jet and Katara _together_. He had had to hide his anger and hurt when he saw them holding hands. Even though he was only a twelve-year-old Air monk, hand holding meant the same thing to him. Jet and Katara surely weren't in a relationship. Were they?

What was also nagged at him was how easily he had gone into the Avatar State. Was it a result of the man asking him for help when he so desperately wanted the world to work out its own problems? Or was it an after effect of seeing Katara and Jet's hands intertwined with each other? He sighed, he wouldn't get far if this was how he acted every time he saw them together. He couldn't "glow it up" and hurt innocent people.

What was wrong with him? He wasn't acting like Aang at all. This wasn't how the monks had brought him up. He was supposed to protect life, not attack it. A knock at the door stopped his thoughts.

"Aang, can you come out here?"

To Aang, Sokka sounded tired. This was confusing in itself, because it was still only midday, give or take two hours. He was also still probably hungry. Aang had come home in the rain, without the food he had set out to get. Of course, he had had no intention of actually picking up food for Sokka, but the young warrior didn't know this.

When Aang had set foot in the house, the little monk was soaked. His eyes were red, and his arm was bleeding where a piece of glassware had cut him. Sokka had leapt up and ran over to him.

"Great. Where's the food?"

Aang had stared at Sokka, as though seeing him for the first time. Then he had pushed past him. If he could only make it to his room…

Toph had listened to the Airbender's steps. He had been walking with heavier footfalls than normal. If that wasn't enough, his heart had still been beating fast, and he had been shaking, as if in anger. Toph had decided that he needed some help.

"Aang, what's wrong."

His answer had come too fast for her taste.

"What? Nothing's wrong."

"Aang, I can tell that you're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"I can feel your heartbeat; yes you are."

Aang had sighed. He had known that he couldn't fool Toph. Not when she could sense everything. He couldn't hide from her. He had plastered a smile on his face.

"Guys, nothing's wrong. I'm fine."

Toph had raised an eyebrow.

"Listen, Twinkle Toes, there's nothing wrong with letting the people who love you help you."

Aang had smiled at this. His friends did care. But he needed to solve this on his own. He had heard Sokka's voice then.

"Please, Aang. Tell us what's up. We want to help."

"Thanks, guys. But this is something I need to work out on my own."

With that, he had turned and walked into his room.

Now he was being interrupted by Sokka's knock. He sighed and got out of the meditative pose he was in. When he slid his door open, he saw Sokka standing with his arms crossed. He saw Toph sitting on the floor, her sightless eyes fixed on him.

But the thing that captured his attention was the two Dai Li agents sitting at the table. When he entered the room, they stood up and walked toward him. One spoke.

"Avatar Aang?"

Aang could only nod. Where they here about what happened in the market place?

Sokka moved to where Toph was sitting. He was caught up in his own thoughts. What had Aang done to have the Dai Li visit them? He felt a hand on his arm. He looked down. Toph had reached up and grabbed him. She was watching Aang, listening to the Dai Li talk to him.

"Aang, what have you done?"

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Katara walked next to Jet. The two were headed to another one of Jet's "great little restaurants" for lunch. She felt slightly guilty because she had told Sokka to tell Aang that she and Jet were searching for Appa. But they weren't. Maybe Aang had caught on to that when he saw them together earlier that day, but he didn't seem like he cared. He had seemed his usual carefree self. After breakfast, she and Jet had mainly walked around Ba Sing Se and taken in the sights. And then it had started to rain.

Katara really didn't mind the rain. She was a Waterbender, after all. Jet, always the gentleman, had somehow found an umbrella and was now holding it over them both. His other hand was wrapped tightly around Katara's. Katara herself was practically hugging Jet in an attempt to stay warm. With the rain had come a chill that seemed to sink into her bones.

"Jet, where's this restaurant exactly?"

"Just up here, Katara."

As Jet spoke, the restaurant came into view just down the street. It was two stories and lit by flammable oil lamps. The outside was painted pale green and the aromas coming from the open down were most inviting. Katara snuggled into Jet's shoulder.

"It's great, Jet."

Smiling, Jet led her inside.

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"What did you do?"

Sokka's voice carried an authority that Aang felt he had to answer to. The Dai Li had spoken in low enough voices so that Aang's friends couldn't hear them. Now Sokka wanted to know exactly what they wanted with Aang.

Aang shrugged. He turned and headed to his room, what he needed was time alone to think about everything going on in his life. Sokka jumped in front of him.

"Those Dai Li agents weren't here for nothing. Now what did you do?"

Something in Sokka's voice made Aang's short temper break. Before he knew it, he was spilling out everything that he had seen.

"Ok, you want to know what happened? I went to the market to get some food. When I got there, I saw your sister holding Jet's hand and going to breakfast with him. I felt so much rage that I must have triggered the Avatar State. And you know what happens when I do."

"People get hurt."

Toph cut in.

"So. What are they going to do to you?"

Aang looked at her.

"To me? Nothing."

"What? Aang, you assaulted someone. You destroyed their market place..."

"No, I destroyed two stands. And that man I assaulted? Turns out he was a spy. For the Fire Nation."

"A Fire Nation spy? Here?"

Sokkalooked skeptical.

"Well, **that** was lucky."

Aang looked away. Yes. Yes it was lucky.

"Wait a minunte."

Aang looked back at Sokka, who had finished the sentence. Sokka then got a look of realization on his face.

"Did you say that my sister was holding hands with Jet?"

Aang nodded.

"Well, no wonder _you_ were mad, I'm furious!"

Aang laughed at the look on Sokka's face.

"Don't get too mad, Sokka. What can we do…if she's happy?"

He couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice when he said the last three words. Sokka looked about to say something, when Toph walked over and put her hand on his stomach.

"Don't get all worked up, Snoozles. You have to let her live her own life sometime."

Sokka gave Toph an incredulous look.

"Yeah, but why now? Why can't I let her live her life when she's thirty?"

"That just isn't the way the world works."

"Ahh. Stupid world."

Aang chuckled. His friends could always cheer him up. Toph turned her attention to him.

"What about you, Aang. Are you OK?"

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Katara licked her lips. Jet was right. This really was a great little restaurant. Of course, she wouldn't have described it as "little". It did have two stories, and it took up more than its fair share of space, but it was nice. She forked her last bite of bull goat steak. It was all so nice of Jet to buy her lunch as well as breakfast. She felt…good when she was with him. He listened to her. He made her laugh. He was tall, handsome and strong. What more could she want?

Jet was wiping his mouth with his napkin. He considered himself to be the luckiest boy in Ba Sing Se to be spending the day with her. She was everything he had always wanted in a girl. She was sweet. She listened. She made him laugh. She was tall, beautiful, and strong. What more could he want?

"I put your flower in my room. Now I can see it when I wake up every day."

"What about my necklace?"

Katara answered by pulling down her tunic collar. Around her neck was her grandmother's betrothal necklace and, dangling down in front of it, was the piece of jet.

Katara fingered the necklace that reminded her so much of her mother. Jet saw the tears in her eyes and reached out to take her hand. He held it in his, letting Katara have her moment.

"Katara, I know it's hard, but; what happened to your mother? How did she die?"

Katara stared up at him, into his two _jet_-black orbs. She saw trust there. And, perhaps most reassuring of all, she saw security. She took a deep breath and launched into her story.

Jet sat back and listened as her story unfolded.

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"Aang, you can't go out in this. You'll get soaked."

"Sokka, you sound like Katara."

"Well, she's not around to baby you; so I guess that's up to me."

Aang chuckled.

"Thanks for caring, Sokka. But you have to let me live my own life eventually."

Sokka grinned at his friend the Avatar. He tweaked Aang's ear.

"Why you cheeky little…just done stay out too long."

With that he turned and head back into the house. He slid the door open.

"Sokka! I'm hungry!"

"Toph dear, do you remember this morning when you were eating a mango? And you wouldn't let me have any?"

"Did you just call me _dear?_ Come in here and let me explain something to you, buddy."

Sokka closed the door, cutting off Toph's voice. Aang waited until he was sure it wouldn't open again before he burst out laughing. Those two! They sounded like an old married couple…almost. Aang offered another small laugh before heading in the direction of the small creek behind their house. He needed to forget about Katara, and what better way than to Bend? Toph had flat out refused to Earthbend with him, so the choice to Waterbend was easy. First, he decided, he had to do something about the rain. Aang concentrated, raising his hands. The rain started to bend in the direction he moved his hands, but it still thundered down on him.

Aang sighed, and tried a different approach. He put his hands out in front of him, and then moved them apart, all the time concentrating on the rain moving to either side of him. Aang kept his eyes closed for several seconds. When he opened them, rain was still falling around him. However, it wasn't falling on him. Aang looked up and saw that the rain spilt right above his head. He had effectively created a Waterbending umbrella. Aang couldn't wait for Katara to get home so he could show her what he had done.

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"I'm so sorry, Katara. That must have been awful for you to see that."

Katara sniffed to hold back the tears. She couldn't cry…wouldn't cry in front of Jet.

"A-and the w-w-worst part was; the Firebender who did it just turned and l-laughed at me before running off. He laughed at a crying child."

The pain in her voice was clear. Jet looked around the restaurant. Most of the customers had left an hour ago. Katara's story had easily taken her three hours to tell. The sky was darkening outside. Most people would be sitting down to their evening meal right now. Jet grabbed Katara's hand.

"Katara, what happened next?"

Katara wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I sat and cried and held my mother. I don't know how long it was. Suddenly, I felt Sokka's hand on my shoulder. I looked up into his face. He was trying so hard to be brave and not cry."

Jet could see Katara struggling to not cry herself, even if she wasn't succeeding. He stood up.

"Come on, Katara, let's get you home."


	8. Sokka's Story: Exit Jet

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Two Point Five: Sokka's Story**

**Part D:**** Exit Jet**

"Ahh! Stupid move!"

Aang levitated to his feet for what seemed like the thousandth time. He was currently trying to learn one of the "advanced" Waterbending forms that he had read about while perusing Katara's scrolls. It was simply deemed "The Sphere". Master Pakku had shown it to Aang; although briefly. He had said that, while it was extremely difficult to get the hang of, it was one of the most powerful defensive forms a Waterbender could learn. According to what he had told them, it could stop anything; short of a full scale bombardment.

The idea was to form a small sphere of water in your hands. Then came the tricky part. Using hand movements similar to the one used when moving water in two different directions, (A/N Think Katara in the Serpent's Pass; or even Moses parting the Red Sea) the Bender would expand the sphere until it covered his or her entire body. More powerful Benders could even keep the sphere expanding, forcing enemy troops back.

Aang was nowhere near to becoming a master. Katara had warned him about trying some of the harder forms without her. But Aang was confident that he could get the hang of this one on his own. He stood with his feet in the creek, the Waterbending "umbrella" he had created earlier still keeping him dry. He really had no idea how he had kept it there this whole time, but he was thankful not to have to wipe rain water out of his eyes.

"Ok, Aang. Let's do this."

Aang raised his hands. He started swirling them, as if the sphere of water was already in them. As he worked, a stream of water started flowing out of the creek and into the space between his hands. When the sphere was formed in his hands, he sped up the movement. When he felt like he had moved his hands enough, he threw them to either side of his body. The sphere of water expanded at an alarming rate. Master Pakku had explained that his move could, in theory, be executed fast enough to block incoming arrows and other such projectiles. When the two teens had doubted his word, Pakku had asked them both to move to a respectable distance and then attack him. Katara and Aang had exchanged a look before moving twenty yards away; which had been deemed appropriate but Master Pakku.

Katara had then conjured up a single obelisk of ice. She and Aang had begun concentrating and moving their hands in movements designed to break it up. The obelisk had broken apart, which had left behind a healthy number of lethally sharp icicles. They had both began launching the deadly missiles at Master Pakku, who had regarded them with a look of overwhelming boredom, seemingly not concerned with the shards of ice speeding toward him. It was only after the missiles had closed half the distance that Master Pakku had acted. He had sped his hands through the motions that Aang was practicing now, but much faster. Seemingly as soon as he had starting the circular motion, he had thrown his hands outwards. A sphere of water had sped toward the icicles, knocking the projectiles aside. It had continued to expand, coming to a halt just in front of Aang and Katara. Then Master Pakku had dropped his hands, letting the shield fall. Aang had gasped in amazement when he saw that all the snow around Master Pakku had been pushed out to where the diameter of the sphere had been.

He had proceeded to explain that this move, while powerful, could not be relied on to stop everything. He had then shown them another form. This form, he had explained, was one very similar to Earthbending, but it worked with ice, not rock. Master Pakku had gone over the motions. All the Bender really had to do was place his hands horizontally in front of his body, with the palms facing each other. He had brought one hand, the one that had been facing down, sweeping over his head and then slammed it into the ground. Somewhere between the sweeping and ground hitting, his open palm had clenched into a fist. At the same time his hand was sweeping above his head, he had started to bring back his opposite leg. At the same moment that his right fist had smashed into the ground, his left knee had crashed down as well.

What had happened next had taken Aang completely by surprise. Walls of ice had risen to surround Master Pakku on all sides, blocking him from view. Aang remembered his eyes had shown with admiration for Master Pakku's skill.

Back in the present, the sphere of water suddenly stopped expanding. It retracted somewhat, before falling back on itself and knocking Aang over. He swore quietly under his breath before jumping to his feet and preparing to try again.

"Aang! Get in here!"

Aang looked up. The tone of Sokka voice made him wonder if the Dai Li had come back. He turned toward the house to see Sokka beckoning to him to come in. Aang created a bubble of air to ensure that his short trip to the back porch was a dry one. He hurried over to Sokka, who looked extremely worried.

The Water Tribe warrior held up a hand as Aang opened his mouth. Aang shut his mouth, confused.

"Aang, do you know where Katara is? She's been gone all day, and I'm starting to worry."

Aang scratched his bald head.

"She's been gone the whole day, and you're just _now_ starting to get worried?"

Sokka shook his head.

"No. I was worried about her when she left with Jet this morning. I just haven't asked anyone where she was until now."

Aang raised an eyebrow.

"She told you she was leaving."

Sokka shrugged.

"She kinda, woke me up to tell me. I guess she didn't want me to worry. Like I'm doing now."

"Well, if it helps, I say her and Jet going to breakfast this morning."

Sokka nodded and proceeded to rub his chin, as if thinking it over. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get any words out, Toph's voice was heard.

"Would you two _kindly_ get in here and shut the door before we all catch a cold?"

Sokka chuckled.

"Heh. She said 'kindly'. Guess we better do what she wants."

Sokka and Aang entered the house, Aang being careful to shut the door on his way in. In front of them, they found Toph with her arms crossed. She looked at Sokka, and then at Aang. And then her sightless eyes moved back to Sokka again. Without warning, she rounded on him.

"What were you thinking, Snoozles? How long was Aang out there? He could have gotten sick or something."

Sokka stroked his chin, clearly deep in thought.

"I don't really know. And the only reason I bothered him was to ask if he'd seen my sister."

"And why didn't you just ask me?"

"Well, you know…"

Sokka closed his eyes and extended his arms. He blundered into Aang, who was trying hard not to laugh. He then turned to Toph, but before he could get far, he tripped over a rock that just _seemed_ to move right where he put his foot. Toph stood over him, pointing her finger, which went slightly to Sokka's left.

"Not funny. Not funny at all."

Sokka climbed to his feet, rubbing his head.

"How did rocks get in our house at all?"

Toph put her hands on her hips, pretending to mull it over.

"Remember when you and Katara were playing Earth and Fire? Well I was levitating some rocks. Now, I believe you have something to ask me?"

Sokka sighed.

"Ok. Have you…um…_felt_…my sister anytime recently?"

"Actually…yes. Yes I have. She's about four feet from the front door."

Sokka's mouth flew open.

"How did you…?"

Toph smiled and pointed at her feet. Sokka looked affronted.

"How could I forget about that?"

Aang suddenly heard the sound of footsteps on wood. Excited, he ran over to the door.

"Katara's back!"

He skidded to a halt as Katara's voice, muffled as it was by the door, could be heard.

"…had a great time today, Jet. Thanks for everything."

And then the voice that made his blood boil.

"No problem, Katara. You deserved it."

Toph listened to Katara and Jet's conversation and felt the Avatar's reaction to it. When he heard Katara thanking Jet for a "great day" the Avatar's heartbeat had sped up. When Jet's voice was heard, his body began shaking. And then came something Toph wasn't prepared for. Through the door came the sound of a _kiss!_ But Aang's reaction to it was even more shocking. Toph felt a jolt through the floor and could only assume that Aang had twitched; either out of surprise or anger.

Sokka, who hadn't heard the kiss, was still a little mad that his sister had stayed out all day without letting him know where that she'd be gone that long. As soon as the door opened, he threw himself on his sister, giving her a quick hug. She backpedaled slightly. Sokka let her go just as quickly and held her at arm's length.

"Where were you? I was worried?"

Katara leaned in and kissed Sokka on the nose.

"Oh, that's sweet of you, big brother."

Toph raised an eyebrow.

"Someone's in a good mood tonight."

"Jet and I had a wonderful time."

Now it was Sokka's turn to raise his eyebrows.

"Jet? Is he out there?"

"Yes. He walked-Sokka?"

Sokka was opening the door.

"I want a word with him."

Sighing, Katara turned to Toph.

"Big brothers. Where's Aang? I bet he little guy's happy I'm back."

"He's right over-Aang?"

Katara turned in the direction that Toph was pointing.

Aang wasn't there.

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Jet whistled as he walked down the street. He had just spent the day with the most beautiful girl in the whole city. He felt lighter than air. He felt as if he had it all; now that he was here in Ba Sing Se. He had a great job, nice friends, and the hand of his fearless, brave, beautiful Waterbender. Things were looking up for him. A sound in the shadows made Jet pause. A voice calling his name made him draw his hook swords, but he sheathed them when he recognized the voice. He spoke as if to the dark street.

"What are you two doing here? I told you to lay low for a week or so. The Avatar and his friends think that you two are at Lake Laogai."

Smellerbee walked out of the shadows, Longshot hard on her heels. The girl freedom fighter looked as confused as she felt.

"Why are you doing this, Jet? Aren't we supposed to be helping Aang find his bison? Didn't you say that you saw lots of likely places at Lake Laogai?"

"Yes, and that's exactly why I didn't send you."

Smellerbee pondered this. It didn't make sense.

"If that's where Appa is, then shouldn't we be over there right now?"

"No. Because if they find Appa, then they're leave. They're leave, and we'll never see them again."

"And why is that such a big deal, Jet?"

"You just do what I say! Keep out of sight and keep both your mouths shut!"

Smellerbee backed away from Jet, her eyes shining. Jet turned and stalked away. Longshot moved and put his hand on Smellerbee's shoulder. Smellerbee looked at the mute archer.

"What's wrong with him, Longshot?"

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Aang sat in his room. In truth, he supposed that what he was doing could be considered hiding. He didn't want to face Katara right now. He felt angry and betrayed. Why did she have to bring Jet along; right when he was starting to turn back into himself. He guessed he could over look it this time. After all, Jet was just bringing Katara home. At least he had the decency to walk her home. Aang continued to stare into space. He found his thoughts drifting back to Gyatso and his time at the Air Temple. He remembered how envious he had felt of the other monks; flying around on their air scooters without a care in the world. He, Aang, was stuck inside practicing and studying to become the Avatar that everyone expected him to be. He remembered that he would have traded anything to be one of them again; free from any great responsibility to the world.

Reflecting on it all, Aang decided that being the Avatar had allowed him to meet Katara, for which he was thankful. He had never known anyone like her at the Air Temple. She was sweet, kind, and it wouldn't take much coaxing to get him to admit that she was pleasant to look at, as well. Of course, that was what had attracted Jet in the first place. And now Katara seemed smitten with him. A sound snapped Aang back to reality. His door was sliding gently open. He watched it as it opened and in slipped the angel from his nightmares.

Katara looked at the little monk in front of her. His gloomy demeanor had changed to one of delight as he saw her. She had always prided herself on being able to change his mood. She answered his greeting by flopping down next to him and enveloping him in her arms. She felt him swell up and return the hug. She pulled away and studied him.

"How was your day, Aang?"

Aang scrunched up his nose for a moment, appearing to be deep in though.

"Rainy."

Katara laughed.

"Yes it was. Luckily Jet had an umbrella for us."

She saw a frown cross Aang's features before his smile returned.

"Hmm, that was lucky. Hey! I made an umbrella out of Waterbending. Well, it wasn't really an umbrella. But it did keep me dry."

Katara looked him right it the eye.

"Nice one! You'll have to show me that sometime."

"Katara, can I tell you something."

"Of course, Aang. What is it?"

"Well, I've been meaning to say this for a while now, but never gotten around to it. Katara, I l-"

Aang was cut off by the sound of his door opening. Sokka entered, soaking wet. Katara got up and moved over to him, a look of deep concern on her face.

"Sokka, what's wrong?"

Sokka looked at her.

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug. I said it before, and I'm saying it again."

Katara looked at Sokka, her eyes growing hard.

"What makes you say that?"

Instead of answering her question, Sokka turned to Aang.

"Aang, he was lying about Lake Laogai."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that's where Appa is. And those two goons of his that he said he'd send? He just told them to lay low in the city."

"WHAT!?"

Before he knew it, Aang was on his feet. Jet had known where Appa was, and he didn't tell him? Why had he wanted them to…? Across from Aang, Katara was asking the same question.

"Why would he want us to stay here?"

Katara gasped as she answered her own question.

"No. Jet, you self centered, little…I trusted you!"

Sokka gave her a look of regret before turning and walking out. His parting words hung in the room like a mist.

"He's done it again."

Katara sunk to her knees, her face in her hands. She couldn't believe it. Jet had done it again. Only this time…it hurt worse. She felt a comforting arm on her shoulder. She looked up to see Aang, concern in his big, grey, _beautiful_ eyes. She buried her face in his shoulder, letting out several sobs.

"Hey b-betrayed me again, Aang. Why do I let him do it? Why am I too weak to see through him?"

"You're not weak, Katara. You're one of the strongest people I know. You're the only person who can get me out of the Avatar State. You're my Waterbending master."

Katara pulled her face away from Aang's shoulder. It was slightly red and she still had tracks down her face from the tears, but he could see the sparkle in her eye that he had fallen in love with.

"Thanks for saying that, Aang. Now, it's late, you should get some sleep."

"Yes, Mother."

Katara laughed.

"Why you cheeky little monk. Just go to sleep."

Katara kissed Aang on the cheek before standing up and exiting his room, careful to shut the door behind her. Aang lay down on his bed. Tomorrow would be a big day. First he would track down Jet and force him to take them to Lake Laogai. Then he would make Jet apologize to Katara. And then they would get Appa back. Aang shut his eyes.

Tomorrow would be an big day indeed.


	9. Sokka's Story: Lake Laogai

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter**** Two Point Five: ****Sokka's Story**

**Part E: ****Lake Laogai**

Aang woke earnestly the next morning. He could feel it. Today would be the day! He was finally going to reunite with his lost pet. He had missed Appa so much, and now he was going to find him. He rose quickly; the sooner he and Sokka had found Jet, the sooner they could rescue Appa. After thinking about it for a while, he guess Jet with holding information had made sense; in a twisted sort of way. And he certainly knew why Jet wanted Katara to stay, even if the very thought made him angry.

He picked up the shirt that had been carelessly tossed aside before he went to bed. He slid open the door whilst still pulling the shirt over his head. He heard some giggling in the living room. He liberated his head from the confines of the shirt to see Toph and Katara with their heads together, looking at him. As he watched, Toph pulled her head away from Katara's. It was painfully obvious that Toph had said something that Katara had found hysterical. Toph smiled brightly at Aang.

"You know, Twinkle Toes. I've been meaning to ask you something."

Here she paused to stifle another giggle.

"Do those tattoos…are they _everywhere_?"

"Ew. Toph! What did you just suggest?"

Sokka had awoken. The young warrior looked almost as tired as Aang felt. He emerged from his room; his hair down, his boomerang oddly not strapped to his back, and his shirt off. Both girls glared at him before Katara spoke up.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Sokka. She wasn't implying anything like that."

Toph muttered to herself. It took Aang all of five seconds to decipher what she had said.

"Actually, I was."

Now it was Aang's turn to stifle a giggle. What an un-Toph like thing for Toph to say. Aang decided that Ba Sing Se must be getting to her. Katara continued to glare at Sokka until he had to admit defeat. Grumbling, he walked past Aang to the kitchen. Aang caught some of what he said.

"…woman doesn't know what it's like to be a man…with hormones."

Apparently Katara _had_ heard, because she rounded on him.

"Maybe _you_ would like to be grumpy and irritable and have cramps once a month!"

Sokka stood his ground, daring to have an argument.

"What are you talking about? _You_ are always grumpy."

Katara let out a snort and turned. She walked straight to her room, sliding the door shut furiously behind her. Sokka scratched his head.

"I don't get it. Is she having cramps right now?"

Aang burst out laughing. He really didn't think Sokka could be a big brother and _not_ know what Katara was talking about. Of course, Sokka could have been saying that just to get to Katara, which apparently had worked. Suddenly, a rock flew out of the corner of the room and hit Sokka on the head.

"You are _so_ tactless, Snoozles."

Toph got up and headed in the direction of Katara's room, seemingly to help her calm down. Sokka shot Aang a look.

"Why is there _always_ a rock?"

Aang decided it best not to answer him. Sokka did this sometimes. The trick was to let him talk until he was tired, and then intercept him. Sokka, however, had different plans; heading off for the kitchen and something to eat.

"I mean, how would she like it if I threw my boomerang at her? Dang Benders, thinking they're so clever…"

"Don't worry, Sokka. You're be able to throw your boomerang at plenty of Firebenders soon."

Sokka stuck his head back out of the kitchen.

"I swear; you and Katara give me the same advice. Are you two reading from the same book or something?"

"No, Sokka."

"And, come to think of it, I've thrown my boomerang at more Earthbenders then Firebenders recently."

Aang just nodded. It was true.

"Well, you _did_ get to hit Prince Zuko."

"That doesn't count. It was almost a year ago. We were still at the South Pole."

"Yeah, but he's still a Firebender."

"True, little buddy."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why, Jet?"

Aang and Sokka had left their house at about midday, the sun at its zenith. They had gone directly to the restaurant where Jet was working. When they had sat down, their waiter had been none other than Jet. He had expressed excitement at seeing them, but it had been immediately quenched when Aang had slammed him up against a wall with a concentrated gust of wind. The young Avatar had spoken one thing to him.

"We need to talk."

And now they were here, interrogating Jet in an ally way across from the restaurant. At first Jet had refused to open his mouth, but when Sokka had pulled out his machete; Jet suddenly got a lot more talkative. Of course, Sokka had no intentions of hurting Jet, but the two had agreed that Sokka could pull it out if Jet needed "encouraging".

They had also spent ten uncomfortable minutes arguing with Katara. The young Waterbender had been insistent on coming with them to see Jet, but Sokka had shaken his head, refusing to have her come. When she had finally asked why, Sokka didn't have a good reason ready; he just told her he just thought it would be a better idea if she stayed at the house. Aang had, at first, agreed with Sokka. He didn't want Katara to come with them to see Jet; it would only hurt her more. But as Katara argued with her brother, he had started to see things from her point of view. He remembered the words that had convinced him, but had hurt him the most.

"If what you two believe is actually true, then it means my boyfriend betrayed me again. I want to talk to him."

Those words had torn Aang up inside. It killed him to think that Katara still called Jet her boyfriend; but, hopefully, that wouldn't be for much longer. Sokka had still refused Katara's right (As Aang saw it) to come with them; and, after much yelling, she had eventfully given in; swearing very un-Katara like and storming off to her room. Aang had made to follow her; But Toph had raised a hand.

"Don't bother. I'll talk to her."

Aang had shrugged his shoulders before he turned to Sokka.

"Let's go then."

Aang snapped his head out of the past. Jet was still mulling over Sokka's question.

_Probably trying to think up a good lie to tell us…or Katara._

After two silent minutes. Sokka was getting impatient. Unable to contain himself, he slammed Jet against the wall.

"Why aren't your two cronies at Lake Laogai?"

A look of confusion crossed Jet's face.

"What are you talking about? They've been there for two days, scouting it out."

Sokka slammed Jet against the walk, harder.

"Liar!"

"I'm not lying to you, Sokka. They're there."

"I don't believe you!"

"I can't make you believe me."

Aang put his hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"He could be telling the truth, Sokka."

Sokka glared over at Aang, his hands still on Jet's shirt front.

"No! I heard him talk to his goons."

"Maybe you just thought you heard them, Sokka."

"I heard them! Tell me Jet, or I'll-"

"Or you'll what, Sokka?"

Jet, Sokka, and Aang turned towards the sound of the voice. Three voices echoed one name.

"Katara?"

Katara ran up to the three young men. She pushed past Sokka and threw herself on Jet. He slipped his arm around her waist. Aang thought he saw a smile cross Jet's features.

"You can't hurt him, Sokka."

Sokka looked at his sister. She was standing between him and Jet, with her arm around Jet's chest. Sokka instead rounded on her.

"And I won't hurt him, if he tells the truth."

"I _am_ telling the truth, Sokka."

"Sokka, believe him!"

"He betrayed us last time! What's to stop him from doing it again?"

"Sokka, he's changed!"

"Well, I don't believe him!"

"Sokka, please!"

"Are you choosing him over me and Aang? Your family?"

There were tears of rage in Katara's eyes.

"Sokka! Please!"

Aang could only watch. His two best friends were screaming at each other. He couldn't believe that one guy would have this much effect on both of them. Of course, he had possible lied to all of them. And if he _had_ lied, then Aang would be on Sokka side in an instant, regardless of what he felt for Katara. As he stood with his own thoughts, the shouting continued.

"You just don't want to believe him!"

"Katara, I wanted to believe Jet as much as you, but he's lying to you."

Aang decided that he should jump in, but before he could, Jet was speaking again.

"Guys, listen to me. I sent the gang to the lake. They should be back in a few days. If they spotted Appa, then they'll tell us and we can go rescue him."

Katara took her hand off of Jet and put it on her hip.

"You see, Sokka? A few more days and we can get Appa back."

"He didn't send the gang! I heard them talking to him last night. He just told them to lay low in the city."

"That's not true, Sokka. I told them to scout out the lake."

"No you didn't, Jet."

Once again, everyone present looked for the source of the new voice. They looked around; finally their glances fell on the forms of Smellerbee and Longshot the archer, who appeared at the head of the ally. In his credit, Jet recovered quickly.

"Guys. What are you doing here? I told you to scout out Lake Laogai."

"No, Jet. You didn't."

Beside Aang, Sokka pumped his fist, and then pointed at Jet.

"See, Katara? He was lying to you the whole time."

Jet looked at Katara. She was staring at him, her eyes begging for the truth.

"Katara; I didn't…."

"Are you honestly going to believe that? This guy is a worse liar then Sokka."

Aang looked around. Toph's voice had come from somewhere…

"Look behind you, Twinkle Toes."

Aang turned around. There was Toph. Beside him, Sokka was complaining.

"Aw man! Did everyone I told to stay home follow us?"

"By 'everyone' you mean me and Katara, right."

"Yep."

Sokka suddenly pointed at her accusingly.

"And just what did you mean by saying he's a worse liar then me. I might take offence at that."

"Sokka, I said he was a _worse_ liar then you. That's a compliment."

For Aang, the words brought up an uncomfortable scene in his mind. He remembered when he had used that very excuse to an extremely annoyed Katara in the Cave of two Lovers. Behind him, the drama continued to unfolded.

"Jet. You didn't."

"Katara, please try to understand…"

"No! Why did you do it? You betrayed me! All over again!"

"Only because I…I didn't want you to leave."

Katara was intrigued.

"Why?"

Aang suddenly knew what was coming, even if no one else did.

"Because…I like you, Katara. A lot. And I didn't want you to leave."

Katara just stared at him. It was what she had wanted to hear from him. But not like this. Katara drew up close to him. Jet's breath froze, his mind running away with him. But his thoughts ground to a halt as he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Why didn't you just tell me? Why did you lie to my friends? To me?"

"Katara, I…"

"Appa is Aang's best friend. He's been looking for Appa for a month. You knew something, and you didn't tell us. I think you owe Aang an apology. And you owe me."

Jet looked from Katara to Aang, who stood with his arms crossed across his chest. He just stared at Jet. Jet let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry I kept information from you, Aang. I let my feelings for Katara get in the way."

_Not bad, but that 'feelings for Katara' bit was unnecessary,_ Aang thought.

Jet turned his attention to Katara.

"Katara, I'm sorry I lied to you. I should have helped your friends. It was selfish of me to only think of keeping you here. But I didn't want to lose you."

Katara looked right at Jet, than spoke.

"Save it for some other girl, Jet. We're finished."

"Is that the way you really feel?"

"Yes. That's my final word, Jet."

Jet closed his eyes. He couldn't stop the tears of rage from flowing. In one swift move, he had lost his girlfriend, his gang, and his friends. He took a deep breath.

"I guess I'll take you to Lake Laogai, than."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train carried them to the outer wall. They disembarked and Toph created a staircase for them. As they walked, Sokka caught up with Katara.

"Hey."

The words sounded lame, even to him. Katara looked up.

"Hey."

"Are you ok?"

"I don't know. I really wanted to trust Jet this time. I felt…like he had really changed."

"He did, Katara. He just made a bad choice."

"What are you saying, Sokka. You were ready to bash his head in."

"Yes, yes I was. But seeing as how you can forgive him, I can to."

"What says I forgave him?"

"Because you're Katara. You forgive people."

Katara laughed.

"And you're Sokka. You break things."

"Name one thing that I've broken."

"How about that necklace that Aang made for me?"

"You mean the one out of _my_ fishing line?"

"Yep."

"How was I supposed to know it was so fragile? I didn't mean to breaked it."

Sokka thought for a minute

"Broked it."

"The fact is that you _broke_ it."

Sokka nodded.

"That's the word."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

A little while later, the group was out of sight of the walls of Ba Sing Se. Truthfully, they would have been able to see it, but a grove of giant maple trees had blocked the view. Katara was walking along when she felt, rather than saw, Aang speed up slightly to catch her.

"Hey, Katara."

"Hi, Aang."

"How are you doing?"

Katara sighed.

"I'm still trying to get over the fact that he lied to me again. I wanted to believe him."

"Well, at least he wasn't trying to flood another Earth Kingdom town, right?

Katara smiled.

"True."

"Katara? When you were talking to Jet back in the city…"

"What about it, Aang?"

"You made one mistake."

"Oh? And what was that?"

"Appa is my best _animal_ friend."

"Yeah. I said that. Your best friend."

Aang gulped and grabbed her hand. Katara turned around to look at him.

"But you're my best friend, Katara."

Katara could feel the blush rising. Had he really just said that?

"And there's something I've been trying to tell you for awhile. Katara, I-"

"There it is! Lake Laogai!"

Sokka's shout brought Katara's attention away from Aang. He quelled the disappointed feeling in his stomach. Katara turned back to him. It was Aang's turn to blush as she kissed his cheek. Smiling, she let go of his hand and ran to join Sokka. Aang stood watching her, rubbing his cheek.

"I love that girl."


	10. The Painted Lady

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Three: The Painted Lady**

The bright smokeless campfire shone out like a beacon against the darkness that surrounded it. The fire was kept alive, not by the addition of fuel throughout the course of the story, but by the will of one man. This man, a Firebender and a member of the Fire Nation by birth, sat across from a warrior. This warrior, who was adding a few last touches to his very long, but excellent, story, was from a tribe whose element was the natural opposite of the Firebender's. And, although he had been brought up to hate the man sitting across from him, he found himself enjoying the company.

For Prince Zuko had found that many things he had been told when he was younger were untrue. His mother had told him that she would always be there for him. But then they took her. He had been told that he, as the Fire Lord's own first born, would inherit the throne. But they had taken that away too. He had been taught that, as a member of the Fire Nation, he was superior all other peoples. He had found out the truth, of course. But it hadn't been in the way he anticipated. He had caught the glances and muttered insults that members of the conquered Earth Kingdom gave them. But it really wasn't until he had gone to the spirit oasis and fought that…that…Water Peasant that he had to except the truth. He had beaten her afterwards, of course, but then she defeated him again. He had had to be rescued. And by the Avatar, the all-powerful being he had been sent to capture. Meeting the Avatar for the first time;_ that _had been a disappointment.

He had prepared for months. No, years. He had been banished from his home for two years before finally finding the Avatar. When he had first seen that shaft of light, he had felt sure that he would meet that great Bender; Master of all the Elements. What he found instead surprised him. He had come expecting some great Master. Instead he found some goofy kid riding a penguin. To say he was disappointed was an understatement.

But now, he was a different person. Not just different in the sense that he had let his hair grow, and that he was wearing Earth Kingdom colors; but he felt different too. He no longer had the strong desire to capture the Avatar that had fueled him ever since the South Pole. He had come to understand that capturing the Avatar would not lead to his personal happiness. Even if he wasn't a fugitive from the Fire Nation and an enemy everywhere else, he knew that the credit for the Avatar's capture would most likely go to Azula, like everything always did.

Zuko glanced to his side. He could just make out the sleeping forms of the Avatar and the girl. They must have come back sometime while Sokka was telling the story. He wondered why he had not noticed them before. Probably because he had been so caught up in the story. It had been very interesting to hear about the Avatar's days in Ba Sing Se, even if this story only covered a few days. He stretched his mind; if Sokka's story has taken place before they traveled to Lake Laogai, it meant that it took place right after he and Jin had gone on another date.

On their second official date together, Zuko had told Jin about his scar. Not where he had truly gotten it or who gave it to him, but a made up story about receiving it when his village was attacked. He told her that his mother was killed and he had been burned trying to save her. She had fallen apart at that; crying softly and telling him how sorry for him she was. Zuko told her to never feel sorry for a man who stilled owned his life. He instead told her to save her sensitivity for the dead, who needed it more. To break the silence that followed, Jin began to speak of her family. She told him that she lived in Ba Sing Se with their mother. They had moved there after her brother had enlisted. Her father, she said, was a "very important man in the Earth Kingdom military", and who was "searching for a Fire Nation renegade named Prince Zuko".

Zuko's eyes had grown wide at this news, but he had suppressed the reaction quickly. Jin, however, caught the reflex. She had asked him if he knew the prince. Zuko, thinking quickly, had lied again, saying that _Prince Zuko _of the _Fire Nation_ had killed his mother. And burned him. He remembered the shocked look on Jin's face as he told her this; afterwards she could just stare, with silent tears running down her face. She had then done something that he had not foreseen, but should have anticipated. She leaned in and kissed him. Remembering how much he had liked it last time, Zuko returned it. Seconds, or whole glorious days, passed. When they broke apart, Jin had looked him in the eye.

"I like you Li. A lot."

That night, after he had dropped her off, had been the last time he had seen her. The next day, he had found a leaflet; which, incredibly, begged the citizens of Ba Sing Se for information regarding 'Appa'. Zuko had stared at the name for a moment, and then decided that it must be the bison's name. Something, possible the giant picture of the bison taking up most of the flyer, had given him the idea. The next few days had been a blur. Finding Appa at Lake Laogai…his decision to let the bison go…sinking to the floor of their new apartment…two dragons…waking up to find peace in his life…getting the invitation to serve tea to the Earth King…surrounded by the Dai Li…being thrown in the cell with the girl…having to choose sides…choosing Azula's side…seeing the Avatar fall…

And then…having to leave Ba Sing Se. He had overheard a Dai Li agent telling Azula that his father would send someone to pick up the _prisoner_ soon. He had thought it meant Iroh, but then Azula had said something about her brother…him…not escaping her father. He had left Ba Sing Se that night. It had meant not having a chance to see Jin again, but now she was safe from maybe being used by Azula. He had been traveling for days until he had been ambushed by Earth Kingdom soldiers; and then saved by the Avatar…again!

The present Zuko looked up. Sokka was emphasizing something with his hands. Zuko inwardly groaned. He had missed the last part of the story. He did have time to catch the last of Sokka's words.

"…and that's how I stopped the giant rampaging penguin and saved my whole village."

Zuko was speechless, for a second.

"Say what?"

"Just checking. The actual story ended a little while ago. You looked a little…distracted. So I just said something to see if you were still listening."

"I see. Well, unfortunately for me, I was."

Sokka looked affronted, but a second later chuckled.

"Come on, it was a good story."

Zuko thought for a minute. Yes, it had been a good story. He told Sokka as much.

"I do have a couple of questions, though."

Sokka grinned.

"Thought you might."

"You said that the Dai Li let Aang go. Why?"

"Hey. You called him Aang. Not 'the Avatar'."

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"I think they let him off for that very reason. Because he's the Avatar. We didn't even have to pay a fine."

"Hmm. Must be nice being the Avatar."

"It has to be. So, anything else?"

"Yes. I understood the story, but how come it seemed like Jet was familiar to all of you?"

"We had met him a while back. He and his freedom fighters were trying to liberate an Earth Kingdom town that your lot had taken over. I didn't trust him; but, unfortunately for me, Katara and Aang did. My suspicions were conformed when he beat and robbed a harmless old man. Jet tried to pass it off by saying that the man was from the Fire Nation. He even went as far as to say the man was an assassin. And Katara believed everything he said. That night, I heard him and his gang leaving. I followed them to a cliff overlooking a dam. I heard Jet tell one of his fighters that he was only supposed to blow up the dam when the reservoir was full. Another of Jet's fighters protested, saying that it would wipe out everyone in the town. Before I could get back to Aang and Katara, I was caught. I eventually escaped and went to warn the town. At first the people there didn't believe me, but the old man that Jet had beaten stood up for me. We managed to get all the people out just in time. If they had still been there, they would have drowned."

Zuko let out a long low whistle.

"That's quite a tale."

"Yeah, it is. Now, I'm tired."

"One last thing. What happened to the girl when she found out Jet had died? Speaking of which, how did he die?"

"That's actually two things."

Zuko shrugged.

"By girl you mean my sister, right?"

Zuko nodded.

"Well, to answer the second part first, we found a cell at Lake Laogai big enough for Appa. But instead of Appa, we found a bunch of Dai Li. We fought them, and then I remember Aang yelling that Long Feng was escaping. Jet must have gone with him, because we didn't notice him after that. Finally, Toph, the little Earthbending girl, managed to trap the last few Dai Li agents. We ran and found Aang just after Long Feng had escaped. We also saw Jet on the ground. Even though Jet had lied to us and to her, Katara tried her best to heal him. He told her he'd be fine. As we left, Toph told me that he was lying."

Zuko looked at Sokka, confused. Sokka saw the question and answered it before Zuko could ask it.

"She can feel a person's heartbeat, and knows when they're lying."

Sokka paused for a moment to stifle a yawn. Zuko just stared at him.

"Creepy. So you can't lie around her?"

"Well, you _can_, but she usually doesn't like it."

"I'll remember that. Now, about your sister…"

"Why are you so curious, Zuko?"

"Because, if she can forgive him…"

"Listen, Zuko. That's just the way my sister is. She sees the best in people. Give her some time. She'll warm up to you."

"But what happened to her?"

"Well, after we got out of the tunnel, we were kinda reunited with Appa. She didn't really press the subject until we were headed back to the palace to see the Earth King. She asked me if I thought Jet would be ok. I didn't really know what to say. So I just told her the truth. She took it pretty hard, considering that the guy had lied to us twice. She cried a fair amount and then she got real quiet. That last part scared me the most, because it was so unlike her. Right before we got to the palace, she apologized to Aang. I didn't, and still don't, know why. Apparently, neither did he, because he had this look on his face. Before he, or I, could ask, we were getting rocks thrown up at us by the Dai Li."

Zuko nodded, trying to stifle a yawn. It really had been a long story.

"What time is it?"

Sokka shrugged.

"It's pretty late. Or really early, depending on how you see it."

Zuko stood up. He looked around the campsite. As he had noticed before, the Avatar and the girl had moved to the perimeter of the firelight. The bison had also moved, most likely to be with its master, but he couldn't locate it. And who knew where the lemur was. He also had some trouble in finding the little Earthbender. He decided that she could just make her own tent out of Earth and make do. He looked at Sokka, who was already unfolding his sleeping bag.

"Any certain place I should sleep?"

"Nope, just pick the softest patch of dirt and lie down."

At first Zuko thought Sokka was lying, but then he looked around. The whole clearing was mostly just dirt. There was no grass on the ground; or, in there was, he couldn't see it. Zuko sighed and flopped right back down where he had been sitting. He lay down and tried to get comfortable. At least the location had been cleared of rocks, obviously the Earthbender's doing. Zuko closed his eyes, but a sudden sound made him open them again.

"Hey, Zuko. Would you mind putting out the fire?"

Zuko looked across at Sokka. Wordlessly he nodded and extinguished the fire with a wave of his hand. Sokka offered him a half-smile.

"Thanks buddy. Good Night."

Zuko watched the warrior turn over. He wondered if the rest of them would accept him as quickly. Then he closed his eyes, his last words barely a whisper.

"Sleep well…friend."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sokka woke up well after sunrise. Part of it was his natural laziness, but he knew that most of the reason was the fact that he had stayed up so late. Sokka sat up in his sleeping bag, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sniffed the air. The aroma made him scramble out of his sleeping bag and across the clearing to where Aang and Katara were sitting around a fire. Sokka could see two fish roasting over it. He could barely contain the urge to drool. He walked up and threw himself down next to his sister.

"Hey, you two. Good night?"

His sister gave him a look.

"Ugg. Not really. In the middle of the night, Toph threw a boulder at something in the woods. It was probably just a harmless monkey squirrel or something. Anyway, it took her quite awhile to get settled down again."

Sokka nodded, he remembered hearing a loud crashing sound during the story. He looked over at Aang.

"Your Avatar-ness?"

Aang laughed.

"Good one, Sokka. Toph kinda woke me up too. It would have been easy to get _back_ to sleep if _Katara_ hadn't decided to yell at Toph for it. And you know how Toph is. She threw some earth at Katara. And then Katara soaked her with the water from her pouch. The whole thing would have escaladed if I hadn't acted like my back hurt again."

Katara rounded on him, her face angry.

"You mean you were joking? I was worried. Why did you do that?"

Aang shrugged.

"Well, it shut you two up, didn't it?"

Katara looked affronted. She opened her mouth, ready to reply, when a _bang_ echoed from somewhere outside the clearing. Katara put a hand on her head.

"That does it. TOPH! Will you please stop?"

"Stop what, Sugar Queen?"

Katara turned to see Toph sitting on Appa. Usually the little Earthbender didn't like to sit on him at all, but she looked content. Katara's jaw dropped.

"Have…have you been up there this whole time?"

"Pretty much."

"Then…it wasn't you who…?"

"Nope, I already got in trouble for throwing a boulder around today."

"True. Sokka, where's Zuko?"

Sokka scratched his head. Actually, he hadn't seen Zuko since he had gone to sleep. His thoughts were interrupted by another _boom_, followed by loud cheering. Looking concerned, Katara got up, Aang and Sokka hard on her heels. They started to move off in the direction of the_ sounds._ Katara spoke through gritted teeth.

"If he's brought Azula to find us…"

"How could he? We're miles from Ba Sing Se."

"She could have been following him, and then hid when we "rescued" him."

Aang put a hand on her shoulder.

"Katara, calm down."

From behind them, Toph shouted at their retreating forms.

"I'll just watch these fish then!"

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Zuko stood in a canyon, close to the clearing where they had camped for the night. He had risen before anyone else. He had awoken feeling strangely calm and content. He had gotten up quietly and gone in search of a stream. When he had found it, he had bathed, washing away the dirt that had covered him. After dressing again, he had gone to find a nice spot to do his morning exercises. When he had stumbled on the canyon, he decided it was good enough.

He spent a few hours warming up, his tight muscles finally beginning to loosen. When he was properly warmed up, he had begun to practice his Firebending basics, just like his uncle had taught him.

_All the elements are balanced. One is not stronger or weaker than the other. It is the strength of the Bender that matters._

Zuko smiled. Uncle Iroh had been so fond of that saying. And Zuko had taken it to mean that he must be the strongest Bender he could manage to be. When Zuko finished his basic tier, he decided to finally try something that his uncle had told him that he would not be able to do. He was sure he could do it now. He closed his eyes, breathing slow and deep. As he breathed, he repeated over and over in his head.

_Yin and Yang._

Zuko began moving his hands; slowly, to separate the energy that his uncle had told him was there. As he worked, he could almost feel the invisible currant that was there. Suddenly Zuko felt like the moment was right. He extended his finger, willing the energy to exit it. Instead, something exploded, throwing Zuko against a rock. He raised his head angrily, his eyes blazing golden. He _would_ get it! He quickly slowed his breath again, concentrating. He felt the electricity move down his arms. He moved through the motions he had seen his uncle go through. When he felt the time was again right, he threw his finger out again. To his astonishment, crackling blue lightning flew from his fingers and into the canyon wall. The noise was incredible; thunder in a bottle would be the closest he could describe it as.

Zuko turned and the sound of running feet.

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Appa flew through a cloud. It was one of Katara's favorite things about flying. She immensely enjoyed being covered with a slight amount of her natural element. It was true what Aang had said: "clouds are made of water." She sat back down, pulling the water off of herself with her Bending and forming a ball. She kept the water that formed the ball swirling, but forced it to retain its spherical shape. The water ball was something that Aang had actually invented. It provided a Bender with an easy way to carry water for a short distance without a pouch. If the water had to be carried longer, it could just be frozen. Katara sighed and evaporated the water with a thought. She sat quietly for several seconds before hearing a grunt from behind her. She turned to see Zuko, who looked miserable and was positively soaked. Katara had to stifle a giggle. Zuko looked at her.

"What's funny?"

As Katara watched, Zuko's eyes flashed and steam began to rise off him. She could also feel the heat against her bare arms. Katara bit her lip and Bent the last of the water off of Zuko.

"Sorry about that. I guess it wasn't all evaporated."

Zuko shook his arms, a small amount of water still steaming off them.

"You think?"

"I guess I'm also sorry for earlier. I thought you'd turn us over to Azula."

"It's ok."

"No it isn't. I doubted you, and you gave me no reason to. I'm sorry, Zuko."

Zuko just stared at the girl. She had every right to be mad with him still, but here she was apologizing.

"I forgive you…Katara."

Katara smiled at him.

"Hey, you used my name."

Before Zuko could respond to her, he felt a sudden rush of wind. He glanced over the edge and quickly pulled his head back. Katara grinned at him.

"Hate flying, huh?"

"It's not my favorite thing. Why are we descending?"

"I don't really know. Aang, why are we going down?"

Aang shouted back.

"I don't know. Appa's just bringing us here."

Zuko closed his eyes and groaned. He really did not like this at all. Across Appa's back, Toph spoke to him.

"It's not my favorite thing either, but you'll get used to it."

Zuko cracked open an eye.

"I'll think about it."

Appa landed with a thud that echoed through the trees. Zuko looked around. They had landed in a forest. In front of them, he could see a fallen tree. It was scorched and had a chunk missing from it. His first thought was Firebenders, and his second thought was Azula, seeing has how she could have burnt the tree and then blasted a hole in it. Zuko slid off the bison's back, his breathing slightly relaxed. Toph jumped down next to him.

"Yeah, I like being on the ground better than in the air also."

Up head, Aang and Sokka were already following Appa. The bison seemed to be searching for something…or someone. Sokka bent to examine the ground. He walked around with his head down until THUD! He walked right into a tree. Sokka looked up at his leafy tormenter.

"Oh man. Why do these things always happen to me?"

He picked himself up, and noticed something on the ground. It looked like footprints, and they were leading away. Sokka, being naturally curious, followed the footprints until…

"No. No. This isn't real."

In front of Sokka was a metal fan; the type of weapon that the Kyoshi warriors used. He picked it up and studied it. The metal had some grooves in it, and there was something that looked like…blood! Sokka sank to his knees. Did this mean…? He slowly turned the fan over. He noticed a set of characters that he had not before. He read them, hardly able to think, not wanting to believe it.

_Suki_.

Sokka clutched the fan to him as tears formed in his eyes. The fan became blurry and eventually disappeared as his eyes bleed tears.

"Suki, what did they do to you?"


	11. A Word to my Fans

**A Word to my Fans**

So, this whole fan fiction thing started when I watched my first episode of Teen Titans. I was intrigued with the characters. And, truth be told, I did find Raven, and Starfire, easy on the eyes. So, I decided, why not watch all the Teen Titans episodes. They must be on the internet. So, over the course of many weeks, I did. And I liked them. Oh, sure, some were better than others. I particular enjoyed the ones that were devoted to Raven's character.

It was a no brainer that I would start writing fan fiction. I was no stranger to fan fiction. I have no doubt that a few of you are familiar with the popular Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley fan fiction site, Sink Into Your Eyes. I spent many a long night; putting off school work and such, so I could read servings of the pair together as written by other authors. The degree of skill was wide. Some ones looked just like illiterate fan girl had gotten a hold of a computer. In other words; not fun to read. Still others were positional stories in themselves; every bit as good as actual books I have read. Great character development, believable human moods, real settings. I seem to have a real thing for people who write AU stories. I just gets to me somehow. Again, like my Zuko/Katara thing, I don't really support it, but if it's extremely well done, then I will like it.

Back in Teen Titans land, I finished my quest to view all the shows. Some I watched multiple times. Then my, obsession some would call it, soared to a whole new level. I started reading Teen Titans fan fiction. It wasn't long until I had a whole list of stories that were favorites on my computer. Then I started thinking, what happened if I wrote a story? I had little actual experience with writing, but I figured I had enough life experience to write a pretty good story. I remembered watching Mission Impossible 3 with my family. The beginnings of an idea for a story began to creep into my mind.

Another of my favorite cartoons at the time was Static Shock. The cartoon didn't dwell so much into character development as Teen Titans, but it still provided hours of entertainment. Another thought accrued to me: what if I made the two work together? I finally had my idea. I wasted no time in sitting down at my computer and firing up WordPad. My computer, for some reason, didn't have Microsoft Word on it. As I finished chapters, reviews started rolling in. The very first comment I got was from someone who apparently visited people's stories and handed out flames. Despite this fact, I kept on. Every day after school I would check my reviews. I didn't get much per chapter. Maybe two or three. But after writing eighteen chapters, it actually seemed like a lot. To me, anyway.

But then something happened in my life that gave me a new idea for a story. This girl in my school, Lily, asked me a question whist I was enjoying my lunch. She asked me if I could keep a secret. When I told her yes, and then leaned in to hear it, she told me she didn't have one for me, but she just wanted to know. Another day, she surprised me by asking who one of my brothers liked. I really did not have a clue and I told her so. So she asked me who my other brother had a crush on. I thought this was a stupid question, as he had a girlfriend. Then she asked me who **I**_liked. Now, I knew she had a crush on me, and to speak the truth, I was pretty fond of her myself. But…I blew it. I panicked. I told her "No one, really", I can still see that slight look of disappointment on her face._

So that gave me my idea for another story. And I started writing that one. It was soon that the reviews started to pour in. Not a great downpour of people who liked my fiction, but more like a drizzle of people who read my stuff because they had nothing better to do. One such User I'd like to mention is Lilac-Roth. She read every chapter, I hope anyway, and left reviews for a fair few. But then something tragic happened.

While surfing for Teen Titans info, I saw that Avatar: The Last Airbender was the number Two rated animated show. So I decided to check it out. I went to one of my trusted links, and started streaming the first two episodes, which came together. When I pressed play, I was hooked, I watched in awe as the show played before me. I was in love. I started streaming the third episode, then the fourth and fifth. By number six, I wanted a way to keep them so I could watch them anytime. Then I went to were I downloaded the whole series, one episode at a time, to my computer.

Oh, the show was amazing. I loved the characters and the action. I fell asleep pretending I was a Firebender. I read that the show was made for nine to twelve year olds, but most of the reviews I read were from people who aged into their thirties. It seemed everyone liked this show. So I decided to write an Avatar Fan Fiction. And, seeing as how Book Three was not out yet, that was the obvious choice. I started writing, not really having any experience with what I was doing. As chapters and reviews started flowing, one reviewer stood out. He gave me some good insight, and I better myself due to what he wrote.

Now my story has ten chapters, and I have 24 reviews. I wish for more, but sometimes people just don't bend to my will always. So I will write more of this, my version of Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Three: Fire.

Of course, it isn't always fun and games. I sometimes have terrible writers block trying to come up with ideas for Aang and his friends. It's harder then it seems to write something like this. So I give major kudos out to Michael and Bryan, Avatar's creators. I hope to be able to write like them one day.

I value all my readers, and wish more of them would leave reviews. My story has as of now 1639 hits. If HALF of those people left reviews, then I'd be so happy it wouldn't even be happy.

So that's it. My message to my loyal fans. Please keep reading and I'll try my best to keep it as thrilling as I can.

And I'd like to give a big shout out to MyOtherName for his reviews. I'll glad you think I'll improving since my first chapters. And I don't know if you picked up on this, but everything you ask about or talk about in your reviews, I try to get in the next chapter. Like, if you ask a question, I'll try to have a character in the next chapter ask THAT question, or a variation of that question, and get an answer.

So here's a cookie for you, MyOtherName. Thanks for the reviews.

Peace and Good Reading-Quiet Wyatt

Oh, and one more thing. To MyOtherName, I'll try to have this updated once or twice a week. The longer the chapters get, the little more time I need to write everything I want in a certain chapter.


	12. The Painted Lady Part Two

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Three: The Painted Lady****Part Two**

The leaves flapped and wavered in the breeze. Somewhere, off in the distance, came the faint sound of bird-song. Squirrel monkeys ran through the tree tops, causing branches to flutter at the times when there was no wind. The sun shone down on the serine forest, its rays warming the already warm soil. Flowers grew in abundance around the trucks of giant red wood trees, colors blending together, as if on a mad artist's easel. But the beauty was overlooked by one young man. He sat, noticing only one thing, his eyes blind to the wonders of the world around him.

For Sokka, there would be no more light; no more happiness in the world. Every time he had come to terms with someone he had lost, the world would find a way to steal someone away from him again. First the Fire Nation had taken his mother. He had screamed, he had shed tears, but the comforting arms of his father and sister helped to numb the pain. Even after his father had gone away to fight in the war, he had still had Katara. She had been forced to grow up much too soon. She was his mother then, and he was her father. Together they acted as each other's parent; each other's sibling. And Sokka had begun to enjoy life again.

And then he had met the Avatar. And then the Fire Nation had come. Sokka remembered getting ready for battle; painting his face as he prepared to protect the ones he loved. But they had wanted the boy. Aang had given himself up, hoping to protect the people he was indebted to. The Fire Nation had indeed left, but it wasn't long until Sokka's sister decided to also. Sokka knew he couldn't let her go alone, so he left with the only immediate family he had left in the South Pole.

And then there had been Yue. He had been smitten from the first time he saw her, standing on the tail of a swimming sky bison. They had become fast friends. Inseparable. Always found together. It had quickly moved beyond that, of course. But then the fates had come. At first it was just the black soot falling from the sky, hinting at an approaching doom. As if the spirits were dedicated to ruining his life, Yue had taken him aside and spoken words. Words like _duty_. He hadn't understood then. He didn't understand now.

Sokka lost Yue. He lost a part of himself that night. She had been everything he had ever loved. And now she too was gone. He hadn't known how long he had cried for her. She had left with a promise that she would always be there for him. But he hadn't felt like she was. He saw her visage in the swamp. And felt guilt at her words. His own guilt. He hadn't been able to protect her, and so he was punished. Just like when his mother was killed, he hadn't been able to protect her either. His sister said it wasn't his fault, but he knew the truth. He had failed to protect, and the spirits had taken. The natural order of things. The world made him sick.

And then Suki had come back into his life. He couldn't remember ever being happier, except when he was with Yue. Suki had tried to kiss him under the moon, but he had held back. Was she watching? Did she still care about him? But then he had realized; Yue's love for him was still strong, and was reborn into new love. He felt happy again.

Now Sokka stared down at the shiny, but scorched, metal. He stared down at the one thing that remained of her. Someone who now could be dead.

_It's because of me. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you._

Why was his life so full of misery and lose? Had he ever offended some spirit in a past life? Sokka laughed through his tears. No, that was Avatar stuff. But, the more he thought about it, he seemed to be marked for suffering. He heard his sister behind him, talking to Aang. He heard her laugh at something the Avatar said. He hoped she would never have to feel his pain. He couldn't wish that on his sister. Not his best source of comfort. Sokka rose slowly and made his way back over to them.

Zuko was bent over, his eyes on the ground. He had discovered the tracks that had led Sokka to his emotional find. Zuko followed the tracks; if his head had been up, he would have seen Sokka dragging his feet, slowly making his way back towards his sister and Aang. Zuko halted briefly at the imprint in the earth where the fan had fallen. He cocked his head, and then moved on, the trail picking up several feet beyond the former resting place of Suki's fan. Zuko spoke to himself, his voice low and calculating.

"Someone was here. The tracks go off in this direction."

Zuko studied the tracks. Before he had reached the disturbance in the dirt, the tracks had been footprints. Now, however, the tracks were longer, more stretched out. It almost looked as if someone had been walking, dropped his or her fan, and then crawled away. He paused; there were holes in his story big enough for him to flip through, but it was the best he had.

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_Suki extended her fan. Azula stood facing her, the grin on her face sickening, like a predator who had just cornered its prey._

_"Don't you know fans just make flames stronger?"_

_Azula charged, her last word echoing in Suki's ears._

_Stronger…stronger…stronger…_

_Suki ran towards the strange woman. Azula shot blue flames which Suki easily sidestepped. Then Suki went on the offensive, thrusting her shield out__ to catch Azula in the head, and bringing her fan up for backup. Azula dodged to the side, grabbing Suki's fan in the process. Suki stumbled forward, weaponless.__ Azula now stood between her and the fallen tree. Azula quickly shot another fireball. Suki could only look back as it came closer and closer. It struck her full in the chest, the momentum picking her up and throwing her several feet._

_Azula looked the fan over__ as she made her way__ to__ward__ what she was sure was a downed opponent. What she found surprised her. Suki was still conscious, her breath coming hard. Azula walked up to her, her face almost sympathetic._

_"Don't you know when to give up?"_

_Suki gave her answer by spitting in Azula's direction. Azula glared at her for a split second, and brought the fan crashing down._

_Satisfied, the Fire Princess dropped the fan next to the motionless body. She then turned to the other two girls. Mai and Ty Lee had taken care of their own opponents, who, along with their aggressors, stared shocked at the merciless Princess Azula._

_Azula pointed a finger at Ty Lee._

_"Take them prisoner. They'll be a nice gift for my father."_

_Ty Lee moved from warrior to warrior, hitting pressure points and rendering them motionless. Occasionally she would glance back at Azula, a look of fear on her face.__ Azula stood watching her, until Mai's flat voice reached her._

_"Azula, how are we going to move five girls?"_

_Azula spun to face her, her golden eyes flashing menacingly._

_"That's not **my **__problem, is it?"_

_"No, Princess."_

_Azula moved away, but Mai continued to glare at her retreating form. Azula stood, watching the fallen tree that she had set alight burn. She really, really hated this place. She shot her finger out, a bolt of lightning springing from it. The jagged bolt flashed at it struck the tree, blasting a chunk off. Azula __paused __and listened to the scared voice behind her._

_"Azula, what about the other one?"_

_Without turning, Azula answered._

_"Leave her where she lies, Ty Lee. She'll serve as an example for anyone foolish enough to cross me."_

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"Hey Sokka, check out this neat Earthbending trick."

Sokka walked right past the young Avatar, not even sparing him a glance. He was still trying to cope with what might have happened to Suki. He clutched the bloody fan to him, his fist clenching harder and harder. Aang glanced at Katara, who shrugged. He put down the three rocks he was swirling in mid air and called after Sokka.

"Sokka, is everything ok?"

Sokka didn't turn around. He paused for a second, and then resumed walking.

"Yeah. Everything's fine."

Aang shrugged. Some people just didn't appreciate Earthbending. He turned to Katara.

"Katara, you have to see this Earthbending trick Toph taught me. Katara?"

Katara was already starting to follow Sokka.

"Not now, Aang."

"Well, how about later?"

"Whatever. Something's wrong with Sokka."

"Something's always wrong with him. Now check-"

"Aang! Something's wrong with my brother! I don't have time for your games."

"Katara, relax. I'm sure Sokka's just mad that we don't have any meat."

Katara bit her lip, still following Sokka's retreating figure with her eyes. She didn't care what anyone said, something was really wrong with her brother, and she was determined to find out what it was. She took a tentative step in the direction Sokka took. Before she could take another, however, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go, Katara. Give him some time by himself."

Katara shook her head, trying to lose some of the emotion she could already feel.

"You don't understand, Toph. Every since Mom died and Dad left, Sokka and I have been there for each other. We help each other when there's something wrong. I want to be there for my brother."

Toph nodded. She understood, to a degree. She felt Zuko's footsteps behind her. From the vibrations, it seemed like he had found something.

"What have you got, Hot Streak?"

Zuko ignored her, instead addressing Katara.

"Katara…there was a battle here."

"What?"

Katara spun to face the Firebender. Zuko pointed to where he found the footprints.

"I found signs, believe me. Don't tell me you didn't notice."

"I noticed, Zuko. The tree over there."

Zuko looked up at the Avatar perched on Appa's head. He fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Very good, Avatar."

"Thanks."

"Twinkle Toes, he's being sarcastic."

"Oh. Right."

"There are scars on trees. Here, for instance."

Zuko pointed out a tree. Katara walked up to it and inspected it. Sure enough, there were some incisions in it. Katara turned back to Zuko.

"What are you saying?"

"Just that there was a battle here. Someone or several someone were attacked."

Katara ran her hands over the cuts in the bark.

"Aang? What do you make of these?"

The young monk walked over to her. He knew that he had to be serious.

"Hmmm. Arrows maybe."

"But where are the arrows now?"

"Well, obviously our attackers cleaned up after themselves."

Katara gave him a look.

"Can you please commit to this, Aang?"

"Sorry, Katara."

Zuko walked up.

"He doesn't have to."

Katara and Aang stared.

"Huh?"

"The tree with the hole in it wasn't damaged naturally. And the cuts on the trees; they look like someone stuck something in them, right?"

Aang and Katara nodded.

"I think my sister was here."

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_The eleven year old Zuko sat on his bed. He was re-reading the letter from Uncle Iroh that told of his victory at Ba Sing Se. Everything had been __so __happy when that letter had arrived__. His grandfather had not yet died, his uncle was a few hours away from conquering the great Earth Kingdom city for the Fire Nation, and he had his mother.__ But now, three years later, everything had changed. Uncle Iroh was back from the war; disgraced, the result of his "defeat" at Ba__ Sing Se. His sister might scorn__ Iroh, but Zuko didn't blame him for stopping the attack after his son died._

_Zuko's father, Ozai, had been crowned Fire Lord after their grandfather Azulon had mysteriously passed away. His mother, a subject Azula still liked to tease him about, had not been found. Zuko wasn't even sure if__ anyone was still looking.__ He looked up from the letter and his thoughts as someone addressed him._

_"May I come in, Prince Zuko?"_

_Standing framed in his doorway was the ten year old Mai. She looked a little hesitant at the sight of him._

_"Sure, Mai."_

_Mai entered the room so abruptly that Zuko thought that she'd been pushed. Mai walked up to his bed and sat at the end of it. He fel__t it sag slightly with her weigh__t._

_"I wanted to talk about…about your mom."_

_"What about her?"_

_"Well, you miss her, don't you?"_

_"Of course I miss her. You would too if your mom went missing three years ago."_

_Mai scooted closer._

_"I mean, it must be so hard, not having anyone to talk to…not having anyone that cares."_

_Zuko nodded. His head swam with thoughts of his mother__. His eyes started to shine as the memories over came him. Not willing to have Mai see him crying, he turned aw__ay. Mai watched as his back shook__ and she could pick up the odd sob.__ She reached out a hand to touch his shoulder…_

_Zuko heard giggling. He spun around. His first sight was Mai, reaching her hand toward him. He looked past her, and was shocked to see Azula and Ty Lee standing in his doorway. Ty Lee had her hand over her mouth and Azula had a superior smile on her face._

_"Nice work, Mai. I told you he still cried about her."_

_Zuko jumped off his bed._

_"Why did you do this?"_

_"To prove what a mama's boy you are. Come along, Mai."_

_Mai gave Zuko a sympathetic glance and followed Azula and Ty Lee. She turned to look at Zuko one last time; to see him slam his door in her face._

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Sokka stood in front of a stream. He didn't know how far he walked until he found it. He could only stand and stare out over the water. The sun shone overhead, but he couldn't feel it. The wind caused ripples to move across the water, but Sokka couldn't feel it as it ruffled his clothes. Sokka unfolded the metal fan. The crimson stain was more prominent in the sunlight. Sokka suddenly lifted the fan, the metal weapon seeming to weight more than a thin piece of metal should. He moved it back and forth, remembering a lesson with Suki when she had taught him to wield the fans. Sokka let it fall, the thin metal hitting the ground with a hollow sound.

"Suki!"

The raw intensity of the cry burned Sokka's throat. He sank to his knees, bitter tears flowing down his cheeks. He tipped his head back, the sun was blinding, its intensity having gone unnoticed by him before.

"Why did you do this to me? Haven't I suffered enough? Everyone I've even loved is gone. Mom…Dad…Yue...I wanted…I _needed_ you, Suki. You helped me remember who I am."

Sokka broke down, his tears falling freely. He could taste the salt and anguish that hid within them. He was eight years old again and had had a nightmare. But this time his mother wasn't there to comfort him, and the nightmare was one he couldn't wake from. His hand drifted over to the fan on the ground. He picked it up, the thin metal feeling like thick lead in his hands. He drew the sharp edge to his neck, and shouted out his grief.

"Why her, spirits? What did Suki do to you? She was just kind. And sweet. And the bravest person I have ever known."

Sokka pressed the fan harder against his neck. Blood began to flow.

"If you are so content to ruin my life, then why not take me? Take me so I can be with her. Let us be together in death."

Sokka turned at a rustling sound, dropping the fan as he did so. Mai stood in front of him, the last few branches snapping back into place after her.

"You asked." She said, raising her arm.

Three arrows shot at Sokka.

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Katara was pacing, her feet working up a small cloud of dust. Around her, Aang was playing with some rocks, and Toph was just sitting.

"Katara, will you calm down? I can't concentrate with you moving around so much."

"You don't understand, Sokka should have been back by now."

"He'll be fine. I bet he's out finding dinner right now."

Katara rounded on her.

"You don't understand, Toph. Sokka wouldn't leave me alone for this long on purpose. I'm worried about him."

"Listen, Katara, I picked up on that, but I told you, just give him-"

"I am tired of giving him time! He should have been back an hour ago."

Katara got to her feet.

"I'm going to look for my brother."

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Sokka could only wait and watch. He was so unprepared, so unexpecting, that he couldn't, or wouldn't, do anything as he watched the three arrows flying at him. As it was, he barely felt when they entered his chest. He just looked down and saw the arrows stuck there, the blood flowing down his arm to stain Suki's fan. He felt his legs go limp; sending him crashing to the ground. He could only watch as Mai started toward him, intend on finishing it.

A blast of fire stopped her in her tracks. She looked around, well trained eyes searching for her assailant. When she spotted him, her breath came a little faster, and she felt the tiniest blush grace her cheeks. She turned to face him.

"Hello, Zuko.

Zuko raised his hand, ready to loose another fireball. He spoke, his voice commanding.

"Leave this place. Leave this place or die."

Mai stood her ground, confident that he was bluffing. When she didn't move, Zuko shot a fireball so close to her head that she was sure her hair was singed. She hastily backed up.

"Why are you doing this, Zuko?"

Zuko just stared at her. His eyes burned with the fire inside him waiting to be released. His body was smoking. Slightly alarmed, Mai backed up even more. Staring down Zuko's eye was more frightening than it had used to be. He glared hatred at her. Mai seemed to collect herself. She set her feet and threw her arm out. Zuko raised his hand, flames covered him in seconds. Mai's darts hit the shield and disappeared. She launched one of her bigger knives, only to watch it melt in mid air.

She stared at Zuko with new eyes. Could this really be the boy who had cried for his mother, or who had fed turtle ducks with her? He seemed so fierce now.

"Please Zuko; we're from the same Nation."

"Liar!"

His golden eyes spoke of his hatred for her. She found herself backing away from him. He was different. She scared her.

"I am nothing like you. Azula is your leader. She's my enemy. She turned the Fire Nation and my father against me. And you."

Mai let her hands fall. Had he just said…? Did it mean…anything?

"Zuko?"

"Go, Mai."

She stood her ground. What had he meant?

"Leave!"

Zuko's hand moved in a sharp horizontal motion. An arc of fire shot at Mai. She backed quickly into the trees. Zuko let his breath out. From somewhere in the trees, he heard her apology to him.

Dismissing it, he turned to Sokka. The warrior looked bad. Zuko ran over to his friend. Sokka was even worse up close. The three arrows in his chest were more than halfway stuck in him, the wounds pouring blood. Sokka's normally tan face was noticeably paler. Zuko bent down.

"What can I do?"

Sokka's voice was quiet, but still carrying a hint of strength.

"Find Katara. She can heal me…"

Zuko nodded.

"Got it. Katara."

Sokka nodded once. Then his eyes shut. Zuko stood over him for a few seconds, and then turned, intending to do the warrior's bidding. He hadn't taken one step into the woods when he heard the one voice he wanted to hear.

"Sokka!"

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Katara wove her way through the woods. She was deep in thought and worried about her brother. Aang and Toph seemed to take it all in stride. They didn't think Sokka's absence for two hours seemed a little strange. Aang was bad enough, always trying to get her to watch his tricks, but Toph had really made her mad. All her talk about how Sokka needed his space.

And where had Zuko gone? It was the second time he had really left their sight. And Katara couldn't help feeling a little suspicious as to his intentions. On an impulse, she raised her hands to her mouth.

"Sokka!"

Katara listened to the responses that she got. A few birds singing and what sounded like a hog monkey chattering. She sighed, turning to walk in another direction. Maybe Sokka would be over there.

A sudden sound made her unstop her pouch, drawing the water out, ready to defend herself. She was surprised to see Zuko pushing his way through the brush towards her. She let the water flow back into her pouch.

"Zuko, what are you doing here?"

"Come quickly! It's Sokka!"

Katara nodded, too scared to say anything. Zuko turned and sprinted away, Katara hard on his heels. He broke through the brush that hid the river from view. There was Sokka, right where he had left him.

Katara ran towards her brothers' body. Her very emotional voice carried the fear that she felt.

"SOKKA!"

She stopped and crouched down next to his body, immediately seeing the three arrows in his chest. She also found the line of blood on his neck. Her eyes wandered down to his feet. There, she saw the fan, crusted with blood. She began to fear the worst. Zuko seemed to understand.

"It was Mai. She did this."

Katara nodded; her eyes still on the fan. Particularly a name.

_Suki._

Katara froze. Was this what Sokka had found? Suki's fan with dried blood on it? Her heart screamed cried out for him. Did he think…?

Zuko cut in.

"He said you can heal him."

Katara snapped back to the present. She nodded.

"I need you to pull these out. Can you do that?"

Zuko nodded. He placed his hand on one of the arrows. Beside him, Sokka groaned.

Katara smiled. He was alive.

"Katara?"

"Lay back, Sokka. I can heal you, but we have to pull out the arrows."

"Katara?"

"Yes, Sokka?"

"Did Yue love me?"

"Of course she did."

"Then why did she do it?"

Katara just stared at him. She had never heard him speak like this. His eyes met hers. And his next words almost broke her heart.

"I can...can see Mom again."

"Sokka! You're…going…to…make…it…"

"What's the point? Everyone I loved…gone."

"Sokka, I'm here."

There were tears in her eyes. She slid her hand under his head.

"Please try. For me."

Sokka nodded. Katara looked to Zuko.

"Pull those arrows out, Zuko."

A/N I really don't like doing this that much, but I just like everyone to be on the same page wit me. When I say "Her very emotional voice carried the fear that she felt", I mean along the terms of her voice sounding like it did when she yelled at Sokka to get out of the way of Zuko's ship in the Second episode. You know, her voice is higher because she's terriflied for his life.

P.S. See if you can spot the Mummy referance in here.


	13. Sokka's Master

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Four: Sokka's Master**

A/N So I hope that my last chapter wasn't too emo for you guys. I now we really haven't had an episode like that in the series, but this is my World now, and as long as I do it good, I can get away with it, right? I seem to have created the desired emotional effect in at least one of my readers, which means I did something right. And I know a lot you are worried about Sokka. Read on to find out! And as for The Mummy reference, yes I was speaking of the movie; it is when Zuko tells Mai "Leave this place! Leave this place or die." And if none of you remember that from the movie, Ardeth Bay says that to the party at Hamunaptra. And another reference I forgot to mention was the Star Wars one. Read my last chapter and see if you can spot it. Hint: it's a line someone says. I think it's pretty obvious, but then again, I wrote the story. If no one can find it, I'll tell you guys what it was in an A/N next chapter.

The sun sat low in the sky. The thin light was hardly sufficient to penetrate through the treetops, and precious little of it reached the forest floor. That was why, under the light stopping barrier of the trees, a small smoky fire had been lit. Sitting around it were three people, each one immersed in his or her own thoughts.

Aang sat with his hands on either cheek, his gaze staring, unbroken, into the depths of the fire. He felt fear for the first time in a while. Not just fear for Sokka, but he feared for what would happen to Katara if he brother should die. It seemed like so long ago when she and Zuko had run back into camp. Katara had been in a fit of hysteric sobs and Zuko had been impassive, carrying the limp and blood soaked Sokka in his arms. Aang had opened his mouth to ask, but Katara had swept past him, Zuko hard on her heels. They had both disappeared into the tent.

Across the campfire from Aang, Toph sat; quietly for once. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, the odd tear falling from them. She had always teased Sokka, but he was her friend. She had never told him that. And now it could be too late. Toph wiped her eyes on her sleeve. No; she would be strong; like a rock.

Zuko sat away from the others. His eyes were also lost in the fire. He found that he worried for Sokka. He hadn't known the warrior for very long, but he had felt the need to protect him. And protect him he did. Zuko closed his eyes. What would have happened if he hadn't been there? Would Mai have finished Sokka off? Or would she leave him to die alone, without someone to hold his hand; to make his death as comfortable as possible? Zuko shook his head to dislodge the thoughts.

Katara emerged from the tent, looking worn and shaken. Aang looked her up and down. Her hair was in disarray and there was blood on her hands. It could only be Sokka's blood. Aang stood up and made his way towards Katara. Before he could reach her however, she looked at him and smiled slightly, her face still showing signs of her recent trauma.

"He's sleeping right now. I think he'll be fine."

Aang nodded, the relief flowing over him. He hated to see Katara like this. She had been acting so unlike the carefree, loving Katara he was used to.

_Then again, her brother h__asn't ever __b__een__ hurt this bad._

Toph kept her head down, not wanting the others to see her tears of relief. She had always known that Sokka was tough. She sniffed; perhaps too loudly, because Katara turned her attention towards her.

"It's ok, Toph. He's going to be fine."

"I'm not crying, Sugar Queen."

Aang walked up behind Katara.

"Come on, Toph. Even I can see through that one."

Toph raised her sightless eyes.

"Was it really that obvious?"

Katara nodded.

"Yes, Toph. It really was."

Toph did something that was so unlike her, it took Katara by surprise. The little blind girl, for that's what she was, underneath the tough Earthbending exterior, climbed to her feet and threw her arms around Katara.

"I'm worried about him, Katara. I want him to be ok."

Katara squeezed the girl back, hints of moisture playing at her eyes.

"Me too, Toph."

Aang sat quietly watching the two girls embrace. He had felt his own anger and grief while Katara had been in the tent with Sokka. He remembered that Zuko had exited the tent a few minutes after he had entered it carrying Sokka's form. Aang had been on his feet and walking towards the when Zuko had held up his hand.

"He's already healed. She just needs some time to patch him up. And wash off the blood."

Aang had nodded, still on his feet. Zuko had gone to sit in the spot he was now currently occupying. Aang had taken several more steps in the direction of the tent, when he had been stopped again.

"Listen, Twinkle Toes, I'm sure Katara has everything under control. The most we can do right now is sit back and wait."

"But I don't to wait. I want to help Katara!"

"Do you think I like this, Aang? I hate sitting here waiting to hear if he's going to die or not. Give her some time."

Aang had stomped back to his log, angry to be outside waiting. They had sat outside the tent for maybe an hour when Zuko had returned. Neither Aang nor Toph had noticed him leaving. He had walked back into camp and deposited some broken branches and logs in the fire pit that Aang had scooped out of the ground. Zuko had set fire to the logs; the fire giving some much needed light. The three companions had then sat around the fire, each absorbed in his or her own thoughts, until Katara had emerged from the tent.

And it was Zuko who Katara walked towards now, after breaking off the hug with Toph. The Fire Prince did not look up as she approached. It was only after she had sat down and taken his hand that he had lifted his head to meet her gaze, his golden eyes a sharp contrast to her soft blue ones.

"Thank you, Zuko. You gave my brother back to me today."

Zuko's eyes had a questioning look to them.

"What do you mean? You healed him."

"But if you hadn't found him, I would have been too late to save him."

She suddenly pulled him into a hug, her mouth next to his ear.

"And if you hadn't been there, Mai could have really hurt him."

Zuko gently pushed her off of himself, his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I drove her off."

"And I'm glad you did. I just don't know how she found us. I thought she'd still be in Ba Sing Se."

"If she's here, then my sister might be as well."

"Zuko? Do you think we should leave?"

"But we don't know for sure if my sister is here. It just could have been Mai. In either case, I'll watch the camp tonight. I don't think Sokka should be flying."

Katara nodded. Her smile was warm and happy.

"Thanks, Zuko."

Zuko bowed his head.

"My please."

"And thanks for saving him."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few miles away from where the group was camped was an Earth Kingdom town. This town had managed to stay unconquered by the Fire Nation for two reasons. The first was the fact that its Earthbenders were particularly ferocious. And the second being its remote location. And it was to this hidden Earth Village that the severely wounded Suki was brought. How long she had lain in the clearing, waiting for the Fire Princess to leave, she did not know. All she could remember was the fan sinking into her side; and the pain, the hard, almost unbearable pain. After what felt like days of being asleep, Suki had awoken. At first she lay quietly, not knowing who was still around.

When she had assured herself that no one was around, she pushed herself up to a sitting position. She looked in both directions several times. The only things that she could see were the endless redwood trees, and the fire still raging on the fallen tree behind her. Suki tried, despite her bleeding wounds, to get to her feet. As she stood, she suddenly cried out and fell back to the ground. She knew from past experience that she shouldn't try to force her legs to carry her weight.

So, Suki had set out, crawling in a random direction. She didn't know where she was going, where the three strange women had gone, or where her warriors were. She only knew that she had to get away before they came back. She also considered finding some way to treat her wounds before she bled to death very important also. Her first thought was to find some plant to slow or stop the bleeding. She could tie it to her wound with strips ripped from kimono. Suki knew of several plants she could choose from, but had no idea where she was, or what kind of plant life there was.

The spirits must have blessed her, because she made an amazing discovery after about ten minutes of crawling. Broly moss. Suki had ripped whole handfuls of the moss and applied it to her wounds. The feeling of relief was immediate. Suki sighed, knowing what she had to do. She took her hands off the healing moss, letting it sit lightly on her wounds. Using all her strength in her weakened state, she ripped several strips from her kimono. Using these as binds, she knotted the moss to her side. This makeshift bandage, while not as effective as a full healing, still felt better than nothing at all.

Suki now attempted again to rise to her feet. She did so, her legs shaky, and her side aching. She stood for a whole five seconds before falling. Groaning, she held her side, which felt like it was on fire. She crawled a little, than stopped. She didn't know where she was, and didn't want to crawl into the middle of a Fire Nation encampment. A sudden sound snapped Suki out of her thoughts. She instinctively reached for her fan, but it was gone. She rose shakily to her feet, ready to defend herself against danger. When two women wearing Earth Kingdom colors emerged from the foliage, Suki relaxed. They were heading in her direction. They raised their hands to greet the young woman.

Suki nodded her head in greeting. Her side hurt her worse than ever. The two women had almost passed by her when she cried out and fell. The women instantly dropped to her sides. One of them started inspecting her injuries, while the other spoke comforting words to Suki.

"You'll be fine, dear. Hina will take care of you."

"Thank y-you."

Suki, already in enough pain from her side, stared coughing. The violent coughs ranked her side, sending lancing pains through her. At last she finished coughing. She raised her eyes to meet the woman's, who had a concerned look on her face. She called back to the other woman.

"Hina, she's coughing up blood."

"And no wonder; this gash is very deep. I think we should take her back with us."

Hina placed a hand on Suki's forehead.

"Sleep now, child. We'll take care of you."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_ Sokka ran, hand in hand with Suki, down a hill in a grassy meadow. He couldn't remember having more fun or feeling more carefree.__ He glanced over at Suki. She was laughing as she ran, and her __makeup__ was gone.__ Seeing her like this almost made Sokka think of her as just a normal girl, not as the warrior that he knew she was.__They stopped on the crest of a grassy hill. Sokka let himself fall over backwards, Suki by his side. He relished the feel of the grass under his back; of the sun on his face. Most of all, he relished having Suki with him.__ Sokka closed his eyes._

_Pure bliss._

_When he opened them, however, he forgot w__h__ere he had been.__ What was once a sunny meadow was now __gone__ Sokka looked around. He stood, alone, in a black landscape; the only sound his own breathing. Until…_

_"I still love you, Sokka."_

_Sokka spun around. There stood a figure he thought he'd never see again. He started to run towards her._

_"Mom!"_

_"__Be well__, Sokka."_

_Sokka ran faster. He couldn't believe it. As he approached, his mother seemed to be…vanishing, fading away.__ Sokka stopped short. His mother faded from view, her smiling face the last thing to disappear. Sokka shook his head to clear it.__ As he did, a new voice came to him._

_"I'll see you again, Sokka."_

_Sokka turned around. There was his father. Hakota smiled at his son, and then he, too, started to fade. Sokka took a step in his direction…_

_"I'll always be with you, Sokka."_

_Sokka didn't need to turn to recognize __Yue__ and the last words she had spoken to him. But he did, only to see her__ vanish. He felt someone take his hand, and was surprised to see Suki. She smiled, then let go of his hand, running into the darkness. As he watched, she faded as she ran.__ Before him, Katara appeared. And his father's words filled his head._

_"__Being a man is about knowing where you're needed the most. And for you right now, that's here, protecting your sister."_

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sokka's eyes flashed open. He knew he was alive because of the striking pain in his chest. Every breath hurt; the expanding of his lungs felt like needles being pressed into them. From the light streaming into the tent, and a bird singing, Sokka assumed it must be morning. His assumption was confirmed when he looked over. His sister was still asleep, her arm wrapped with his, her hand squeezing his own. He listened to her gentle breathing for several seconds, before his father's words came back to him.

Sokka slowly tried to remove his arm from his sister's grip. He figured she must have been holding him in quite a grip when she went to sleep, because he couldn't break it. As he watched, a smile came over her tanned face. He lips, which sloped upwards ever so slightly, mouthed one word. Sokka didn't even have to think about it. He knew what she said.

_Sokka._

But why? Was she dreaming of him? Of her brother that might be slipping away from her; even while she slept next to him? As he watched, Katara's content little smile slid off her face, to be replaced by a look of concern.

"No…Sokka!"

She was twitching in her sleep. Her hand was still clutching his in a death grip, but she thrashed around. She let out a cry. Sokka nudged her.

"Katara. Katara?"

She woke after his second nudge. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her brown hair fell loosely into her face, framing it as the sunlight lit the tent around them. She stretched, finally removing her hand from Sokka's. As she yawned, she glanced over at him. Her yawn turned into a squeal of delight.

"Sokka!"

Sokka tried to sit up. The pain in his chest flared up, leaving him gasping for breath, his eyes shut tight from the pain. He fell back to his earlier position, the jolt from hitting the round making him wince. He felt Katara's hand on his face.

"Oh, Sokka."

Sokka opened his eyes and found himself staring into hers. He smiled stupidly and asked the first question that popped into his head.

"Hey, Katara. Are you dead too?"

Katara laughed. She leaned in and kissed his nose, something she did ever since they were little.

"No, silly. You're alive."

"I am? I have to say, I thought I was a goner."

"Do you have that little faith in my healing skills?"

Sokka raised his hand. Before Katara knew it, he was tickling her under the arm. She giggled helplessly.

"Sokka! Sokka stop it!"

Sokka suddenly did stop. Katara looked at him.

"Why did you stop?"

"Katara? I saw mom."

He saw the amused look on her face turn to one of concern.

"Sokka…"

"I saw her. She told me she loved me. Then she left. Just like before."

Katara blinked away the tears. What was her brother saying?

"And I saw Dad. And Yue. And I was with Suki. They all left me too."

"But Dad's not dead. Neither is Suki."

"How do you know? Why did I see them then?"

"Sokka, it was just a dream."

"It wasn't just a dream! I saw everyone I love. They all left me."

"Sokka. I'm still here."

"And I saw you."

Katara's breath caught in her throat.

"You…did?"

"I heard Dad. He told me to protect you. You're all I've got now, Katara."

"Sokka, stop. We don't know if Suki's dead."

"What if she is, Katara?"

Katara didn't have an answer for him. She just stared at him for a split second before hugging him, disregarding his gasp of pain.

"But I'm here for you, Sokka. And I will always be here for you."

Sokka looked her right in the eyes.

"What if you're not? What if you die? What if I can't protect you?"

"There are a lot of what ifs in the world, Sokka. What if I promise not to die?"

"Aye. That'll work."

Katara learned in and kissed his nose again.

"I promise I won't die."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suki's eyes shot open. She was lying on a bed in what looked like an infirmary. She wanted to sit up, but her aching side made this complicated. She could just lie back and wait to heal. A noise surprised her: a door opening. She turned her head and saw one of the women who had found her. The woman came over to Suki.

"Aw, you're awake. I didn't know if we would be able to heal you. You had lost so much blood."

"How long have I been here?"

"Two days."

_Two days!_ Who knew what state her warriors were in? Were they dead? Suki sat up so quickly she felt her back crack. This wasn't a good thing, considering her present condition. She screamed in pain as it washed over her. The woman walked over to her, pushing her back down gently.

"Careful, child. You don't want to open your wound back up."

Suki made one more half-hearted attempt to get up, but the woman kept her hand on Suki's shoulder, pushing her back down.

"Just rest now, dear."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sokka pushed the tent flap open. Instantly he shut his eyes against the sunlight. He slowly opened them as he grew accustomed to the light. When he could finally see, he looked around the campsite. He was surprised to see that Aang, Toph, and Zuko were gone. He turned to Katara, who followed him.

"Where is everybody?"

"Aang and Toph are practicing Earthbending."

As if to confirm Katara's words, there came a boom, followed by what sounded like Toph laughing. Sokka nodded.

"Are you sure he's ready to be Earthbending?"

"Sokka, it's been eight days. He should be fine."

Another loud bang was heard, this time accompanied by a sound that could have been Aang cursing. Katara started off in the direction it came from.

"Although, I should check on him. Will you be ok?"

Sokka nodded to her.

"I'll be fine, Katara."

Katara moved off into the woods. Sokka sat contently until his stomach rumbled…loudly.

"Why are you always the first one to complain, stomach. We're alive, be happy."

His stomach continued to protest, arguing that they might have been saved from bleeding to death, but they still were in danger from starving to death. Sokka started off into the woods, muttering to his stomach.

"Why can't you ever be happy?"

Sokka only had walked for a few minutes when he pushed a branch aside to find another, smaller clearing. In the center of the clearing, his back to Sokka was Zuko. Sokka watched as Zuko continued with his morning exercises. Sokka eased himself down onto a rock to watch. He spent five minutes watching Zuko throw punches and kicks, flip in different directions, and utterly destroy a small bush. Sokka winced.

"Whoa. I fear for all bushes on your bad side."

Zuko turned around. His scarred face lightened a bit as he say Sokka. He walked over to him.

"Welcome back, Sokka. Glad you aren't dead."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Anyway, I was far too hungry to let things like death get in the way."

Zuko smiled.

"Well, it's good to see you up."

He turned to continue his exercises. Behind him, Sokka cleared his throat.

"Zuko? Do you remember when you came to the South Pole? And you kinda…beat me?"

Zuko stopped.

"Yes."

"Well, I was wondering…would you teach me?"

"You want to learn Firebending?"

"No. I don't even know how that would be possible. I was just wondering if you could show me some moves."

"Are you sure you should?"

"Well, Katara would say no, but I think if you don't show me anything too strenuous, then I should be fine."

"I know I'm going to regret this."

"There's the Zuko I know."


	14. Sokka's Master Part Two

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Four: Sokka's Master Part Two**

"Sokka, are you ok?"

Sokka took a deep breath. Was he ok? The screaming pain in his chest said otherwise, but his brain said he was fine. He exhaled and stood up, his aching legs protesting. Zuko had just shown him a move that would protect him from two attackers at once. The Fire Prince had made it seem easy, but Sokka had fallen the first time he had attempted it. And the second time. And the third. Until his chest ached and his vision blurred. He couldn't remember ever working this hard. The closest he had come was his warrior training with Suki. Sokka had just started to realize how behind he was.

Zuko turned towards Sokka. The warrior was bent over, a hand clutching his chest. Even from where he was standing, Zuko could hear his heavy breathing. Not because Sokka was in any way out of shape, but the wounds in his chest flared with pain every time he made a move. Zuko sighed and shook his head. He was impressed with Sokka's persistence, but the warrior would have to call it quits soon. Apparently, the warrior did not agree, because Sokka, chest heaving, rose shakily to his full height. He shifted his weight and assumed one of the stances that Zuko had shown him. These stances, most of them aggressive; compliments to Zuko's Firebending nature, left the subject ready to attack or spring in any direction. But there was no need. Zuko looked Sokka right in the eye, and repeated the question. Sokka shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm fine, Zuko. You worry too much."

"I just don't want to have to explain to Katara when you die of exhaustion or something."

Sokka burst out laughing.

"Zuko, I'm not going to die of-"

He doubled over, holding his chest.

"Ok, that one hurt."

Zuko put his hands on his hips, the hint of a smile crossing his scarred face.

"I told you."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Aang!"

Katara sighed, wondering what was keeping the young Airbender from answering. She had heard Aang's voice from this direction, but couldn't find him; or Toph for that matter. Muttering under her breath, Katara pushed a branch out of her way, revealing yet another small clearing. It was surrounded by trees except for one side. This side ended at the foot of a cliff. Katara offered the cliff face a slightly longer stare then it really required, and then turned her back to it. She could see footprints and broken rocks littering the ground, so knew that they must be there, but she had no idea where specifically. Katara stomped her foot, angry that Aang would have made her worry like that. True, all he had done was cursed, but she had never heard the Avatar curse unless he was in danger or injured. And she couldn't think why he would be in danger, especially with Toph there. So, she had deducted that Aang was hurt; probably Earthbending related. Katara started to panic. Where was Aang? Was he ok? Sokka was right; maybe he shouldn't have been Earthbending so soon.

Katara was just about to call his name again when someone grabbed her from behind, covering her eyes. Crying out, Katara reacted instinctively; she unstopped her water pouch and Bent the water into a whip. Directing it behind her, she heard it make contact, and the hands covering her eyes let go of her. Katara spun around, her hands raised to protect herself. What she saw served to both annoy her and relieve her. There was Aang, who looked, apart from an angry red welt in the middle of his forehead, perfectly fine. He just stared up at her, involuntary tears forming in his eyes at the sharp pain in his forehead. Katara's heart melted.

"Oh Aang, I am so sorry."

Aang Airbended to his feet, already rubbing his forehead. As Katara watched, the Avatar's trademark grin spread across his face.

"Excellent. You have the reflexes of a Waterbending Master."

Katara broke into a relieved smile. She had expected Aang to play the victim; acting hurt until she gave him a hug. She put her fists together and bowed to Aang.

"Thank you, Aang. _Pupil_ Aang."

Aang nodded.

"It was my pleasure, Ka-Wait a minute."

Aang pointed a finger accusingly at Katara. The water tribe girl stared back at him, her eyes big and shining. Aang was caught up in her eyes. Her big, blue, beautiful eyes. The moment came and passed quickly.Before they knew it, both of them were laughing hysterically. Toph's voice came from behind them.

"Was our joke really that funny, Aang?"

Katara wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.

"Joke? What joke?"

Aang shuffled his feet and glanced at Toph, as if asking her to rescue him. She sighed and pointed over her shoulder. Katara looked behind her and saw what looked to be a doorway hewn from the rock had appeared in the cliff face. She returned her gaze to the blind Earthbender.

"And where did that come from?"

"I made it. It's where we were hiding."

Katara narrowed her eyes.

"And how did you get in?"

Aang shrugged one hand behind his head.

"I made it, Katara. Toph wanted to show me an easy way to get through mountains."

Toph cut in, the pride in her voice evident.

"And it only took him two tries. Who's a better teacher then me?"

Katara raised an eyebrow.

"That would be me. And by the way…"

She rounded on Aang.

"_You_ shouldn't scare me like that. I thought you were hurt. I was worried."

Aang looked puzzled.

"Katara, I only swore because my cave collapsed."

"Yeah? Well, I'm sorry for caring!"

Katara turned and stomped away. Aang could still hear her muttering under her breath and snapping any twig foolish enough to get in her way. Aang hung his head, angry at himself for making her mad. He turned and raised both hands. The doorway in the cliff closed. He turned again and began in the direction that Katara had taken. Toph quickly caught up and grabbed his arm.

"Give her a minute to cool down, Twinkle Toes. She'll love you again by the time we get to camp."

Aang cast one last look in the direction that Katara had taken, and then spun to face Toph, who was already waiting with a rock in the air and a smile on her face.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"But I want to get out of bed!"

It was almost midday and Suki was getting restless. As well intentioned as she was, Hina would not let her get out of bed for anything. Suki was naturally impatient, and being bedridden like this was getting to her. She made another, rather half hearted, attempt to get out of bed. This resulted, as had all her previous attempts, in being pushed back down by Hina. The woman was always gentle, but her overprotective attitude was starting to bug Suki. In fact, it reminded her a little of Sokka. But that didn't make it any less annoying. Hina smiled down at Suki.

"Lay back, child. You were nearly dead when we found you."

But Suki persisted.

"Listen, I'm very grateful for you finding me and all, but I need to go."

"But you are not prepared to go anywhere. At least not for a few days."

Suki let out a long suffering sigh.

"Fine. I promise I'll stay here until I get better."

The woman bowed, already gliding out of the room.

"That's all I ask of you."

The door slid shut behind the woman. Meanwhile, a grin slid across Suki's face. She pulled the bed covers away from her body to inspect the bandaging. It was, as she expecting it to be after it was changed, fresh. Suki smiled, and then very slowly ran her finger down where she knew the horrendous laceration was. She winced as she felt the familiar pain running through her. After it passed, she did it again, and braced herself. She nodded, pleased that, while it would still hurt to move, she could at least handle the pain.

Suki sat up, the pain almost making her cry out. She bit her tongue, determined to wait it out. In a shorter time then she would have thought possible, it passed. She eased her legs off the bed, lowering them to the floor. Then, breathing deeply, she took her first shaky steps. The pain came again, but she was ready for it. After several shaky steps, Suki found that the pain was barely there. In fact, she felt great. Only a shortness of breath and a dull ache reminded her of her wound.

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Katara sat by the empty fire pit, her head in her hands. She wasn't crying, she was just reflecting on everything that had happened to them in since Aang had been injured. It seemed like ages, but it had only been eight days. It had started with Zuko joining the group. At first she had thought that he was just going to turn them over to Azula again, but he come to prove that he wasn't interested in betraying them or capturing the Avatar. Not yet, anyway. And then Sokka had been injured. Katara closed her eyes, remembering what may, in different circumstances, very well have been some of his last words to her.

_I can...can see Mom again._

Katara put her hand over her mouth, her eyes screwed up as the tears started to fall. She had hated to see him like that; dying in her arms when all she could do was watch. It was just like watching her mother die again. Only this time, the Firebender had been on her side. She tried not to think of what could have happened if Zuko had not found him. She would have found him, or course, but after how long? Would he already have been dead? Or would she have found him still alive, still hanging on to that slim hope that his friends would find him and hold him as he slipped away? A sob broke out and echoed around the clearing. Katara allowed the tears to flow; allowed the sorrow to leave her body in any way possible.

_My brother could have died, and I didn't even tell him that I l__o__ve him.__ Thank the Moon Spirit that Zuko was there and I was able to heal him in time._

Katara opened her eyes. Yes, it was true that Sokka could have died, but he hadn't. He was alive and well, and he was…where was he exactly? She could have swore that she had left him right here an hour ago. Katara got up and walked over to the tent. If she knew Sokka, then he would be back in bed. She lifted the tent flap, expecting to see her brother's sleeping form. Instead she saw a mess of sleeping bags littering the floor. Katara backed out of the tent. Where was he? He certainly hadn't decided to go hunting in his condition. Had he? Katara dried her eyes on her sleeve, worry taking the place of sorrow. Her brother was known to do stupid things, true, but even he would know when to go easy on himself. Katara raised her hands to her mouth.

"Sokka!"

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"Sokka!"

Katara's voice seemed to fill the small clearing where Sokka was sitting on a rock, watching Zuko catch lunch. The Fire Prince was practicing his marksmanship on a hog monkey that had been passing through. The frantic animal was running back and forth, trying to evade the fireballs that Zuko threw its way every so often. Sokka, doing his part, was keeping score. A fireball that came close to hitting the hog monkey was worth five points, a clean hit was ten points, and a dead miss was worth a point; for the effort. The monkey, apart from being a poor sport, was also cheating. Sokka also took it on himself to cheer Zuko on when he got tired, like he was.

"Come on, Zuzu! Don't give up now! You can beat him!"

Zuko glared at Sokka, his hands on his knees, his chest heaving.

"You could try helping."

"Are you suggesting that I run around trying to catch that thing?"

"I don't want to come off as mean, but yes."

"Two reasons. One, Katara doesn't want me overexerting myself with my injury."

"When did she tell you that?"

"I think it was while she was leaving. I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway…"

"Sokka…"

"…the second reason is that you're so close to winning."

"Sokka!"

"What?"

"Listen."

"Sokka!"

Sokka's head sprang up.

"Oh man, that's Katara. Do you think she knows where I am?"

Zuko shrugged.

"I knew I shouldn't have been straining myself. Zuko, why did you let me?"

"Me? Let me explain something to you…"

"No time. Just….catch my lunch for me, will ya?"

Sokka turned and ran off, leaving a very frustrated Zuko; who rolled his eyes.

"Water peasants."

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"One mango, please."

Suki had been walking for an hour. The sun was at its zenith, and the day was a warm one. The Earth Kingdom town, which had seemed small and simple when she was brought in, was really large and mazelike. It had taken her all of her hour of walking to find the fruit stand she was currently standing in front of. She had been walking; hot, tired and thirsty, and had caught a strong scent of mangos in the air. She had followed it to the fruit stand. When she had passed the building she had been brought to, she had cast it a dirty look. But then she had seen the fruit stand, and her thoughts turned to lunch. Especially after she had seen the mangos. Suki loved mangos, she would admit it.

The merchant handed over the mango, his grubby little eyes never rising above her shoulders. Suki felt a strong urge to hit the man, but her assumptions were laid to rest when he asked if she had money and she came to the conclusion that he was looking for a purse of some kind. Suki wasted a full two seconds staring at the man, before plunging her hand into her kimono. She found the money pouch, relieved that it was still there after everything she had been through. She took out four copper pieces, double what the mango was probably worth, and paid the man. He pocketed the money, and then turned to assist a mother and her two small children.

Suki sighed, spent a joyful moment thinking about Sokka, and turned. If she hurried, then she would be able to get back in bed before Hina found out about her trip to get lunch.

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"Aang, you're never going to get it if you have that attitude."

"Toph, I'll learn any other move you want to teach me. Just not this one."

"Why would you not want to learn how to bury someone in quicksand?"

Aang turned away, the hint of a tear in his eye.

"It's…complicated."

"No. It's called being stubborn."

"I thought you said Earthbenders are supposed to be stubborn?"

"I did. But I meant it in the terms of not moving and standing your ground. Not wimping out when I try to teach you something."

Aang turned back to Toph, his fists clenched.

"Toph, can we please just do something else?"

Toph could hear the strain in his voice. He really did not like quicksand. Had something happened?

"Aang, why don't you…?"

"Something happened, ok? Now can we please just drop it?"

"Fine. But expect to give me an answer."

"Whatever."

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Katara was pacing, her feet working up a sizable cloud of dust. Where was Sokka? She had called his name twice, and had waited for twenty minutes. Truth be told, Katara had started to get bored after the first five minutes. Sokka shouldn't have been that far away from the camp.

She was also feeling a certain amount of guilt. She had yelled at Aang. It wasn't like she didn't care; but that she felt she cared do much. She had taken something so simple, the fact that he had gotten an Earthbending move wrong and swore, and had turned it into a complicated case. But when she thought about it, she was entitled to care, damn it. She worried about Aang, but most of the time she had a good reason to. She may have justified it, but she still felt horrible about yelling at her Airbender. And where the hell was Sokka?

"He couldn't have gotten that far. Sokka!"

Katara let the shout hang in the air. Then she started to walk in a random direction.

"I bet he got lost."

Just then a crashing sound startled her, her hand reaching for the water pouch. Before she could reach it, however, Sokka came bursting out of the brush, his hand on his chest, and his machete out. He came to a halt in front of his sister, who had a very unpleasant look on her face. Sokka caught his breath and put on his best 'I-wasn't-doing-anything-I-was-just-using-the-bathroom' look. Katara, on the other hand, had a 'you-better-have-a-damn-good-reason-why-you-worried-me-half-to-death' look on her face. Each sibling knew the expression on the other's face. Sokka opened his mouth, but Katara beat him to the punch.

"Where were you? I've been worried sick!"

Sokka poked his two index fingers together, trying to think of an excuse that she would buy…

"I was just…you know….answering the call."

"For ten minutes?"

"Well, I had to…you know…go."

"Sokka. Why do you do this to me? I lost Mom and Dad's gone and I don't want to lose you too."

Sokka looked at his sister. She was on the verge of tears.

"Katara…I'm sorry."

"Yeah? Well, that's not good enough. I just almost lost the only family I have left in this part of the world. And then you go somewhere and scare me."

"What about Aang? Isn't he our family now?"

"Well, yes. But he and Toph are not the same as blood relations. I would fall apart without you, Sokka."

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Why? Let's think. Eight days ago, my best…Aang was hurt. Bad. And two days ago, my brother, whom _I love very much_, almost died. And then, after I knew that he was alive, he disappeared again, almost scaring me to death."

Katara couldn't contain it any longer. She practically jumped on Sokka, and hugged him to her. He groaned as the pain in his chest flared, but she didn't loosen her hold. If anything, she tightened it. Sokka sighed and hugged her back, rather half-heartedly. Katara pulled away and held him at arm's length.

"I just don't want to lose the one person who's always been here for me."

Sokka stared at her. Now there were tears in his baby sister's eyes.

"Oh, Katara…"

"What if…if I c-couldn't find you, a-an-and you di-died? How do you think that would feel? To find your brother's co-corpse?"

"Katara, I…"

"I love you, big brother."

"Katara, I'm not going to die."

Katara's pressed a finger to where she knew the holes were on Sokka's chest. He winced. Then she pushed her face onto his shoulder. This time he was ready. This time he held her tightly; securely. She sobbed into his shoulder, her hands holding the fabric of his tunic in a death grip.


	15. The Beach

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Five: The Beach**

The sun stood high in the sky, its rays reaching down through the sky, only halting when they met the density of the forest canopy. Despite this inconvenience, the sun filtered down, through the gaps between leaves, limbs and trunk, until it fell on the forest floor. Here it spread light everywhere except the darkest corners. Every so often, there was a gap in the leafy canopy, allowing the light to filter down unhindered. It was in on such clearing that the light and warmth of the sun fell upon a young Firebender. The Firebender welcomed the warmth of the sun of his back, for it was his governing element. There were some Firebenders who even worshiped the sun, praying to that giant ball of spinning gas and flame burning billions of miles away. Of course, Zuko didn't know this. He just assumed the sun was some giant orange orb in the sky that empowered his Firebending.

Zuko huddled over the corpse of the hog monkey, a skinning knife that Sokka had given him in his hand. He tried not to think too hard about what he was doing. He knew he was making a mess of things, but he refuse to give in; the hunger in his stomach wouldn't let him anyway. Zuko paused to wipe some sweat from his forehead. Sokka had not mentioned how hard it was to skin an animal. Of course, maybe it was so second nature to him; he assumed that Zuko would have an easy time with it too. Zuko took a deep breath, plunging the knife back into the body.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ow! Katara, that hurt."

Katara pulled away from Sokka, her tears still falling; forming two small waterfalls cascading down her cheeks. She sniffled, her hands still gripping Sokka's tunic.

"How can you say that you won't die?"

"Easy. Because I won't."

Sokka flashed Katara his best winning grin, but Katara wasn't buying.

"Can't you pretend for five seconds that you understand what I'm going through?"

"But I'm _fine_."

Katara pulled her brother to her once again, laying her face in the crook of his shoulder. Sokka bit his tongue to hold in the wince of pain. He put his arm around her, drawing her close.

"No you're not fine. You have three holes in you."

"You mean these holes? They don't bother me."

"Sokka! Stop acting like this is a joke."

"Then how do you want me to act?"

It was a good question, and Katara did not have an answer ready for him. She looked up into his face, her mouth opening; then closing after several silent seconds. Sokka saw the change in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Katara. I'm going to lie down."

Sokka kissed the top of her head, then broke off the hug and staggered to the tent. He pushed open the flap, and disappeared inside. Katara bit her tongue as she watched him hobble. He hadn't had that much trouble walking when he had woken up this morning. Where _had_ he been?

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"Now I'm going to teach you an Earthbending move that could very well save your life."

Aang maintained his respectful silence. He really didn't know what would set her off. Toph was still trying to get him to tell her why he was so reluctant to learn anything regarding quicksand. He knew he would have to tell her sometime, but he would; as soon as he told Katara how he felt about her. Toph raised an eyebrow at the young Airbender.

"You listening, Twinkle Toes?"

"I am. So what's this secret move, Toph?"

"Whoa. Not secret. Not even offensive."

Aang stared at her. His lips moved, but no sound came out. Finally…

"But you just said that it'll-"

"It _will_ save your life, but don't expect to kill anybody with this move."

Aang swallowed the disappointed sigh building in his throat. He wanted to learn Earthbending, but this was just a waste of his time. He really wanted to find Katara right now. But, for Toph's sake, he squashed the feeling and put on his best smile.

"Ok. Ready, Toph."

Toph smiled. Wasting no time, she thrust both fists in front of herself, then straight up. The ground she was standing on rose up, shooting towards the sky like an arrow from a bow. Aang watched the top of the tower, and Toph, grow smaller as they moved further and further away. Aang squinted against the afternoon sun. The tower was so high that the sun was actually in his eyes; nothing to sneeze about, considering it was still essentially midday.

Aang cupped both hands around his mouth.

"Toph! What are you doing?"

"Hush up, Twinkle Toes. I'm showing you that move."

Nothing could have prepared Aang for what happened next. He was still squinting, still looking upwards, when he saw Toph spread her hands and _leap_ from the pinnacle of stone that she had created. Aang stood, rooted to the spot with terror, as his friend plummeted toward what would be her doom. Aang had to make a choice; to give Toph the benefit of the doubt, or to spring into action and avoid having to watch her splat. He chose action.

Maybe she had known exactly how long he would spend rooted to the spot, or maybe she had calculated his reaction time, but Toph had chosen just the right height for her tower. Aang was still lifting his hands when he looked up and saw Toph; albeit way too close. Aang jumped to the side, his back protesting at even this movement. Even as he regained his feet, he knew he was too late. The dust cloud thrown up from Toph's landing was surprisingly huge. Aang tried to see into the cloud for a few seconds, before giving up and Bending it away. What he saw amazed him.

There was Toph, standing with her back leaning against her tower. Aang let his mouth hang open for several seconds before running over to her. When he reached her, Aang opened his mouth to question why she had jumped, why she was not a pancake, and why she had scared him to death. His voice, however, refused to comply. What came out of his mouth were some small squeaking noises. These, accompanied with his hand gestures, which indicated the sky, the ground, Toph herself, and finally his heart, seemed to get the message across. Toph smiled.

"I know, you're probably wondering 'How did she do that?'. Well, we Earthbenders can do a little something called ground manipulation. Basically, I softened the ground to the point where I could survive the landing."

Aang, who was still pointing at the sky, took all this in. After he was sure he understood what she had done, he spoke.

"So why are you showing me this?"

"So you don't always have to rely on that glider of yours."

"What? What's wrong with my glider?"

"I'll just saying, I think it'd be good for you to learn this move."

Aang folded his arms. Toph smiled.

"Good. Ready to learn?"

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Suki was really getting tired of the room she was being kept in. Not forced, because she knew she could leave if she really wanted to, but _made against her will_. Hina and the others were in no ways unkind. Quite the contrary, actually. Suki knew they had her best interests at heart, and wanted her to get better, but she had grown up in a place where no one was forced to stay in bed. On Kyoshi, if someone was injured, they were allowed to set their own limits. For example, they could move around freely and go wherever and do whatever they felt they could handle. In other words, no one could tell anyone else what their limitations were.

Suki desperately wished to be back on her island home. She knew she wasn't being realistic, but that never stopped her before. At least she had been able to go get the mango. She had returned to her room just in time. Hina had come in just as she finished her lunch to change the sheets. The new sheets were still a little damp from the wash, and smelled like lavender. Suki sighed, her hand under her chin. She was perched on the edge of the bed. Contemplating on how best to make them let her go. At the very least she could some fresh air. She got up and walked to the small window in her room.

For some reason beyond her understanding, the shutters had been closed. She couldn't imagine why, what with it being so close to summer, but that didn't change the fact that they were. She slid them open and immediately a warm breeze filled the room. Suki welcomed it. True, she had been outside just a short while ago, but she felt keeping her room ventilated was one of the wiser decisions she could make.

Unfortunately, the breeze was not the only thing that came through the open window. As soon as Suki had opened it, a commotion had caught her ears. While the breeze was nice, it was almost not worth the noise. Almost. Suki looked down over the square where several people were gathered around one man and a…_bear?_ Suki stared at the strange animal. Strangely it wasn't a gopher bear or a porcupine bear, or even a skunk bear. Suki shut it from her mind as two voices stood above the rest. Suki strained, just barely able to hear them.

"Your Majesty, when we heard the news from Ba Sing Se, we feared the worst. How did you escape?"

"You're not going to believe it. Bosco and I were saved by the Avatar!"

Suki's head perked up at this. This was the first she had heard of Aang for some time now. She had wondered if he had ever found Appa in Ba Sing Se. Down below, the discussion continued in earnest.

"Our last reports were that the Avatar and his three friends were looking for their Sky Bison."

"And they found him, Captain. Actually, Long Feng was the one who stole him."

"Long Feng? You don't say."

"That's not the worst of it, I'm afraid. Long Feng was involved in a plot to take over."

"Really? Now that is interesting."

"The Avatar and his friends put a stop to the conspiracy and opened my eyes to the war. Later that day, the Kyoshi warriors arrived, and the Avatar took his friend Sokka and left Ba Sing Se."

Now Suki was really interested. She knew that the "Kyoshi warriors" that the King mentioned had to be the three strange women who had ambushed her and her warriors. And he had mentioned Sokka! Where was he? Was he alright?

"The next day, The Avatar returned. His two friends Sokka and Toph confronted and accused the Kyoshi warriors of being imposters. I didn't believe it myself until one of them got behind me and held me at Firepoint. She was a Firebender! The three of us found ourselves in a cell. Later, Toph somehow Bent the metal door and freed us. Then we went to free Bosco. And then we went to find Appa. It wasn't long until we saw the Avatar's other friend Katara running toward us. She was holding something in her arms and looked very distressed."

"And what was she holding?"

"Well, she was holding the Avatar. I never found out how, but he had been injured. I couldn't really see what was going on. I remember a bright flash, and then someone sobbing."

"So the Avatar…is dead?"

"No, he's alive and well, Captain."

"So, how did you get from traveling with the Avatar to arriving here?"

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing, but my bear…tried to eat…one of the Avatar's pets."

"Your bear did what?"

"He tried to eat the Avatar's lemur."

"Ahh, no wonder they made you leave."

"Who said they made me leave?"

"No one did, sir…I just assumed."

"Don't worry, Captain. I'm not mad. I chose to leave. And, to make a long story short, I wondered until arriving here."

"Well, it's an honor to have you here, my Liege."

"Thank you, Captain."

Suki pulled her head back inside the window. She sat down on the bed, trying to digest everything she had heard. So the three women who had ambushed them had meant to infiltrate the palace? And they had succeeded, according to what she had heard. But what had really caught her attention was what had been said about Aang. He was injured. Suki bit her lip; she had heard that he was alright, but she could still worry. And the lack of information about Sokka was unnerving. She desperately wanted to know if he was alright, but sometimes no news was good news. Suki flopped down on the bed.

"Where ever you are, Sokka, I hope you're ok."

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Zuko sat in front of what had recently been recognizable as a dead hog monkey. Now the only word that could describe it was _mess_. The Fire Prince had literally done a number on the carcass. It resembled something that had crawled out of the water, shriveled up in the sun, turned inside out, and _had then_ died. Zuko sat and stared at the mess, his breakfast threatening to come up. He sighed, slapped his head, and got up.

"I'm going to catch some fish."

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Azula sat on the throne in the palace, deep in thought. It had been eight days! Eight days and not a word of the Avatar's capture. When she thought about it, there hadn't even been a sighting of him or his three companions. Azula blew at loose strand of hair that was hanging in her eyes. As if she hadn't enough to deal with; she still had the issue of Zuko. Five days ago, he had taken issue with someone in the market place. That's what the official Dai Li report had said. Apparently, Zuzu had grown angry, showing little self control by burning the man. While Azula did not care one way or the other what Zuko did to these Earth Kingdom peasants, it did alert the general public that Firebenders were in the city.

An extremely angry Azula had gone to Zuko's room that night to _speak_ with him. Not surprisingly, Zuko had already fled. While she had been most displeased with the idea if explaining to her father why his failure of a son was again out of his vengeful reach, it had saved her the trouble of having to _deal_ with him. Of course, she still had had to deal with an entire city who, despite multiple attempts by the Dai Li to restore order, had been driven into an uproar when they had discovered a Firebender in their midst. Because where there was one Firebender, there usually were more. Azula had acted quickly to put down the, rather short-lived, rebellion. She had found, and killed, the self appointed leader. And she had done it in a public place.

Still, Azula knew she would have to get her brother back, or face her Father's wrath. She had immediately dispatched Mai to follow him. Two days ago, Mai had reported back that she had found Zuko and wounded one of the two Water Tribe siblings. Azula personally hoped it was the girl. Her hair on one side was still slightly shorter after their battle in Old Ba Sing Se. Azula sighed dejectedly as Ty Lee entered the room. In all the time she had known Ty Lee, Azula knew that the acrobatic girl would not leave her alone until she got had she wanted. As Ty Lee came within speaking distance, Azula flashed her best smile.

"Greetings, Ty Lee. What brings you here?"

"Azula, I was wondering if I could leave the palace to, you know, do something."

Azula tried her best to look concerned, but her facial muscles couldn't quite pull it off.

"Oh dear. You haven't been outside the palace at all?"

Ty Lee nodded.

"Not for ages. And I was wondering, you know, if you don't mind…"

"Of course not, Ty Lee. I hope you don't think that it was _I_ who gave the order that you weren't to leave the palace."

"N-no, Azula."

Unfortunately, it _had_ been Azula who had ordered Mai and Ty Lee not to leave the palace. Azula had said it was for their own good, but Ty Lee hadn't been convinced that easily. If she had learned anything about Azula in the eight years that she had known her, it was that Azula cared very little for the personal safety of anyone, except herself. But the promise of freedom called to Ty Lee more strongly and louder than Azula. The young acrobat turned to leave.

"Oh, and Ty Lee?"

"Yes, Azula?"

"If you hear anyone complaining, tell them that I will devise a fitting punishment for anyone who doesn't follow my orders."

Ty Lee gulped.

"Yes, Princess."

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Katara stood outside the tent, pacing once again. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that Sokka had been straining himself when she had told him not to. She knew that his judgment was not the best. What _had_ he been up too? She could hear him in the tent; mumbling and the occasional groan, but she assumed it was just one of his 'newly-acquired' and frequent naps. She found herself growing more and more worried about Sokka as time wore on. True, she had healed him, but she still felt as if sometime terrible was still to come. Katara stopped pacing and glanced at the tent again.

"One look couldn't hurt."

She approached the tent, Sokka's moans growing louder all the time, and threw back the canvas flap. What she saw made her cry out and put a hand on her mouth, her eyes opening wide in shook.

"Sokka!"

Just as she was going to fully enter the tent and attend to her, apparently very sick, big brother, she heard a crashing from the other side of the campsite, and then someone shouted her name. She half turned to see Zuko, his hair windswept and an excited look on his face. He ran up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Katara, you need to see this!"

Katara pulled her hand out of Zuko's grasp.

"No, Zuko! Sokka needs me!"

The excited grin slid off Zuko's face.

"He does? What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know. I was going to find that out when you grabbed me."

"Listen, he'll be fine for ten minutes. Now come on, there's something you need to see."

"I said _no_, Zuko."

"Katara, this could help us win the war."

Katara turned to look into Zuko's golden eyes, and then turned back to Sokka.

"I suppose he _will_ still be here. This better be important, Zuko."

"Believe me, it is."

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Azula sat on the throne; her eyes looked with Mai's.

"Did you treat the arrows as I told you to?"

"Yes, Azula."

"Good. How long?"

"Three days, Princess."

"Excellent. My problems are about to be _one_ fewer."

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Zuko and Katara burst out of the tree cover, finding themselves on a beautiful sunny beach. Katara spun to face Zuko.

"I swear, Zuko, if this is your idea of a-"

"No joke. Look!"

Zuko pointed over Katara's shoulder. She turned and looked in the direction that his finger was pointing. Her eyes grew big, her mouth hanging open.

"Oh wow."

A/N: There. How's that for a double cliffhanger for you guys. What's the deal with Sokka? What are Mai and Azula playing at? What did Zuko find at the beach? I guess it's more like a triple cliffhanger, huh? Write me some nice long reviews, guys. And, by the way, how was The Simpsons movie, MyOtherName? Until next time, guys.


	16. The Beach Part Two

**Previously, on Avatar:**

_Suki extended her fan. Azula stood facing her, the grin on her face sickening, like a predator who had just cornered its prey._

_"Don't you know fans just make flames stronger?"_

_Azula charged, her last word echoing in Suki's ears._

_Stronger…stronger…stronger…_

_Suki ran towards the strange woman. Azula shot blue flames which Suki easily sidestepped. Then Suki went on the offensive, thrusting her shield out to catch Azula in the head, and bringing her fan up for backup. Azula dodged to the side, grabbing Suki's fan in the process. Suki stumbled forward, weaponless. Azula now stood between her and the fallen tree. Azula quickly shot another fireball. Suki could only look back as it came closer and closer. It struck her full in the chest, the momentum picking her up and throwing her several feet._

_Azula looked the fan over as she made her way toward what she was sure was a downed opponent. What she found surprised her. Suki was still conscious, her breath coming hard. Azula walked up to her, her face almost sympathetic._

_"Don't you know when to give up?"_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

He picked himself up, and noticed something on the ground. It looked like footprints, and they were leading away. Sokka, being naturally curious, followed the footprints until…

"No. No. This isn't real."

In front of Sokka was a metal fan; the type of weapon that the Kyoshi warriors used. He picked it up and studied it. The metal had some grooves in it, and there was something that looked like…blood! Sokka sank to his knees. Did this mean…? He slowly turned the fan over. He noticed a set of characters that he had not before. He read them, hardly able to think, not wanting to believe it.

_Suki_.

Sokka clutched the fan to him as tears formed in his eyes. The fan became blurry and eventually disappeared as his eyes bleed tears.

"Suki, what did they do to you?"

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"If you are so content to ruin my life, then why not take me? Take me so I can be with her. Let us be together in death."

Sokka turned at a rustling sound, dropping the fan as he did so. Mai stood in front of him, the last few branches snapping back into place after her.

"You asked." She said, raising her arm.

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Katara rounded on her.

"You don't understand, Toph. Sokka wouldn't leave me alone for this long on purpose. I'm worried about him."

"Listen, Katara, I picked up on that, but I told you, just give him-"

"I am tired of giving him time! He should have been back an hour ago."

Katara got to her feet.

"I'm going to look for my brother."

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Toph raised her sightless eyes.

"Was it really that obvious?"

Katara nodded.

"Yes, Toph. It really was."

Toph did something that was so unlike her, it took Katara by surprise. The little blind girl, for that's what she was, underneath the tough Earthbending exterior, climbed to her feet and threw her arms around Katara.

"I'm worried about him, Katara. I want him to be ok."

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Suki nodded her head in greeting. Her side hurt her worse than ever. The two women had almost passed by her when she cried out and fell. The women instantly dropped to her sides. One of them started inspecting her injuries, while the other spoke comforting words to Suki.

"You'll be fine, dear. Hina will take care of you."

"Thank y-you."

Suki, already in enough pain from her side, stared coughing. The violent coughs ranked her side, sending lancing pains through her. At last she finished coughing. She raised her eyes to meet the woman's, who had a concerned look on her face. She called back to the other woman.

"Hina, she's coughing up blood."

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Sokka opened his eyes and found himself staring into hers. He smiled stupidly and asked the first question that popped into his head.

"Hey, Katara. Are you dead too?"

Katara laughed. She leaned in and kissed his nose, something she did ever since they were little.

"No, silly. You're alive."

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"Zuko? Do you remember when you came to the South Pole? And you kinda…beat me?"

Zuko stopped.

"Yes."

"Well, I was wondering…would you teach me?"

"You want to learn Firebending?"

"No. I don't even know how that would be possible. I was just wondering if you could show me some moves."

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"Lay back, child. You were nearly dead when we found you."

But Suki persisted.

"Listen, I'm very grateful for you finding me and all, but I need to go."

"But you are not prepared to go anywhere. At least not for a few days."

Suki let out a long suffering sigh.

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"Aang, you're never going to get it if you have that attitude."

"Toph, I'll learn any other move you want to teach me. Just not this one."

"Why would you not want to learn how to bury someone in quicksand?"

Aang turned away, the hint of a tear in his eye.

"It's…complicated."

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"Sokka, why do you do this to me? I lost Mom and Dad's gone and I don't want to lose you too."

Sokka looked at his sister. She was on the verge of tears.

"Katara…I'm sorry."

"Yeah? Well, that's not good enough. I just almost lost the only family I have left in this part of the world. And then you go somewhere and scare me."

"What about Aang? Isn't he our family now?"

"Well, yes. But he and Toph are not the same as blood relations. I would fall apart without you, Sokka."

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Why? Let's think. Eight days ago, my best…Aang was hurt. Bad. And two days ago, my brother, whom _I love very much_, almost died. And then, after I knew that he was alive, he disappeared again, almost scaring me to death."

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"So the Avatar…is dead?"

"No, he's alive and well, Captain."

"So, how did you get from traveling with the Avatar to arriving here?"

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing, but my bear…tried to eat…one of the Avatar's pets."

"Your bear did what?"

"He tried to eat the Avatar's lemur."

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Zuko sat in front of what had recently been recognizable as a dead hog monkey. Now the only word that could describe it was _mess_. The Fire Prince had literally done a number on the carcass. It resembled something that had crawled out of the water, shriveled up in the sun, turned inside out, and _had then_ died. Zuko sat and stared at the mess, his breakfast threatening to come up. He sighed, slapped his head, and got up.

"I'm going to catch some fish."

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"Oh dear. You haven't been outside the palace at all?"

Ty Lee nodded.

"Not for ages. And I was wondering, you know, if you don't mind…"

"Of course not, Ty Lee. I hope you don't think that it was _I_ who gave the order that you weren't to leave the palace."

"N-no, Azula."

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"Sokka!"

Just as she was going to fully enter the tent and attend to her, apparently very sick, big brother, she heard a crashing from the other side of the campsite, and then someone shouted her name. She half turned to see Zuko, his hair windswept and an excited look on his face. He ran up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Katara, you need to see this!"

Katara pulled her hand out of Zuko's grasp.

"No, Zuko! Sokka needs me!"

The excited grin slid off Zuko's face.

"He does? What's wrong with him?"

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Azula sat on the throne; her eyes looked with Mai's.

"Did you treat the arrows as I told you to?"

"Yes, Azula."

"Good. How long?"

"Three days, Princess."

"Excellent. My problems are about to be _one_ fewer."

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Zuko and Katara burst out of the tree cover, finding themselves on a beautiful sunny beach. Katara spun to face Zuko.

"I swear, Zuko, if this is your idea of a-"

"No joke. Look!"

Zuko pointed over Katara's shoulder. She turned and looked in the direction that his finger was pointing. Her eyes grew big, her mouth hanging open.

"Oh wow."

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**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Five: The Beach Part Two**

Katara put her hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. What Zuko had found was almost too good to be true. A way to get to the Fire Nation without being recognized. But something more important played on the edge of her conscience. Her big brother was still very sick, and she had no idea why. So while she was impressed with Zuko's discovery, she really had more pressing matters to attend to. She made this much clear to Zuko; but apparently he didn't hear her, because his voice followed her as she ran back towards the woods.

"Katara, don't you want to explore?"

But Katara's answer, if she gave one, was lost on the wind. Soon Zuko was alone on the beach with his prize. He shrugged his shoulders and, turning back to his find, ran off down the beach.

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"Are you sure about this, Toph?"

"Course I am, Twinkle Toes. Did you really think I would let you jump from really high up for your first try?"

Aang gulped. Maybe Toph wouldn't let him jump from "really high up" but the pillar of stone he was perched upon was still a little too high for him to feel safe jumping from in. He moved to the edge and looked down. Ok, so maybe it wasn't that high. Aang looked back to his teacher, the hint of his old grin returning.

"So how do I do this?"

"Easy. You imagine the ground becoming softer."

Aang's grin shrunk by a couple of molars.

"That's it?"

"That's the easiest way. There is a gesture that you can use that softens the ground quicker, but I thought we'd stick with the basics today."

"Wait. Since I'm closer to the ground, shouldn't I use the _faster_ technique?"

"You gotta crawl before you can walk, Twinkle Toes."

Aang let a sigh escape between his teeth. If this was how she wanted to use their training time; then he'd go along with it, but no one said he had to be happy about it. The Airbender drew in a deep, slow breath. He prepped himself to jump, and then turned to Toph.

"Just concentrate on making the ground softer? That's it?"

"That's all there is to it."

Aang drew to his full height. It sounded a little sketchy to him, but he'd give it a try. He took in another slow breath, closed his eyes, and jumped.

_Make the ground softer…make the ground softer…make the ground softer…_

With a small jolt, Aang hit the ground. But that was all; a jolt. It felt almost as if he had landed on sand. He looked down; to his great amazement, he _had_ landed in sand, which was up to his ankles. With a small thud, Toph landed next to him. She shuffled her feet a bit, before…

"Damn it, Twinkle Toes. Haven't I told you how much I hate sand?"

Aang raised and lower one shoulder.

"On the other hand, even I didn't create sand on my first try, so good work."

Aang broke into his first real smile since Katara had yelled at him.

"Thanks, Toph."

Toph put her arm around her young pupil's shoulders. This was partly due to the fact that she was as good as blind in the sand. But she was mainly proud of the progress Aang was making.

"I'll teach you something even cooler tomorrow. Besides, I bet the Sugar Queen is back to normal. Let's go back to camp."

Aang nodded his head; he was excited to tell Katara what he had done today. Plus, it wouldn't take much coaxing to get him to say that he was starving either.

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Zuko stood on the beach, fishing pole in hand. While he was still very eager to explore his find, he _had_ come here to catch fish. Zuko cast on last look at his discovery, sighed, and turned away. Maybe they would return here after lunch. But until then, he had some fishing to do. Finding a good spot, Zuko strung the pole and cast his line out into the ocean.

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Katara torn angrily through the trees, pushing branches out of her way. She was furious with Zuko for practically dragging her away from her brother's sickbed. While she was impressed with, and curious of, his discovery on the beach, she was primarily concerned with her brother's well being. Perhaps what he had found could open up roads of possibility for them, but now was not the time. What she needed to do now was find out exactly what was wrong with Sokka and make it better.

She hadn't realized how far from the campsite Zuko had taken her. His excitement had been infectious, and she had soon felt the same sense of discovery that had seemed to consume him. And, now that she was forced to try to find her way back, she did not at all share the same feeling that she had earlier. Katara quickened her pace, the worry overcoming her. She was what may well prove to be miles away from the campsite, Aang and Toph were still Earthbending who knows where, Zuko was undoubtedly exploring his find, and her brother was lying in the tent groaning and sweating. Muttering choice words to the heavens and spirits under her breath, Katara pressed on at her breakneck pace.

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Ty Lee walked leisurely alone a crowded side-street in the middle ring of Ba Sing Se. She took in a deep breath, letting the clear air of the Earth Capital fill her lungs, before exhaling and repeating the process. While she had left the palace to get away from people, she was currently under treat of being knocked down by the throng of shopping, scholars and various busybodies that inhabited the city. A myriad of people shared the streets with her. There were venders from the Earth Kingdom, a few Water Tribe scholars, and even people who preferred uncolored robes to those that portrayed their various affiliations. And while Ty Lee tried her best to avoid knocking into anyone, there were still invisible shoulders in the crowd that just seemed to bump hers. She dispensed apologies as quickly as the collisions came, but most of her unseen assailants were not as kind. Insults carried to her from multiple and hidden spots in the crowd.

"Fire Nation scum!"

"Chi Blocker!"

"Firebender!"

Most of the insults Ty Lee ignored, and some she didn't actually hear, but there was one that stood out in particular. It echoed across the square, like a nail being driven into her skull.

"Circus Freak!"

Ty Lee spun around, her tiny hands clenched in fists, her normally smiling face contorted into an angry grimace. She looked around the crowd, most of who hadn't even bothered to look at her. She, like Azula, had heard of Mai's wounding of one of the Avatar's companions. But, unlike Azula, Ty Lee had not heard which. She desperately hoped it was the peasant girl. She had never forgotten, or forgiven that insult. Ty Lee struggled once more, in vain, before sighing and turning back in the direction of the palace.

Victory was not supposed to feel like this.

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Mai sat in front of the throne; she felt, rather than saw, Azula's calculating golden eyes on her. She had returned to give the news that she had wounded one of the Avatar's companions. She had even told Ty Lee, while the acrobat was leaving the palace. And now she was sitting in front of Azula, having just told her the, rather exciting, news. The Water Tribe warrior was down for the count. Following Azula's instructions, Mai had _poisoned_ her arrows before going in search of the Avatar and his friends. That way, Azula mused, even if the girl healed the wounds, the poison might still kill whomsoever Mai happened to hit. Mai had to agree; it _was_ a good idea.

"You're sure the poison will begin affecting him soon?"

"Yes, Azula. I hit him in late afternoon, two days ago. If the poison is still in his body, it will begin affecting him in a few hours."

"Good. Which poison did you use?"

Mai told her; Azula's eyes growing wide before she let out a long, loud laugh.

"I couldn't have chosen a better poison myself. What are the effects?"

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Fifty miles away, in a small clearing awash with sunlight, Sokka's eyes shot open. Unknown to Mai and Azula, the poison had begun to affect his body early. Sokka's eyes grew wider and wider as a wave of blinding pain shot through him. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out, his hands gripping the furs and sleeping bags in a vice grip. As suddenly as it had come, the pain relaxed. Sokka let out his breath, a feeling of relief came over him as the pain subsided. His relief was short-lived as the pain came back in earnest. Sokka gasped this time, his eyes screwed shut against the pain. When it left him, he was gasping and his eyes were watering. And then it hit again. This time, Sokka cried out, his body seizing up, his hands clenching the sleeping bag once again.

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"…he'll experience waves of pain, each wave more excruciating then the last. And then the visions will start. The pain will subside, and the warrior will see things, things that seem real even though he knows they aren't…"

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"You didn't protect me."

Sokka opened his eyes. The pain had gone from his body, and he was able to pull himself into a sitting position. He gritting his teeth and sat up, his sides aching. And in front of him, he saw something he thought that he'd never see: Yue. She appeared to him much the same way she had in the swamp. Sokka closed his eyes. When he opened them again, it was his father he saw.

"Part of being a man is knowing where you are needed most. And for you, that's here, protecting your sister."

Sokka shut his eyes again, this time rubbing the lids with his hands. He opened them to see Suki.

"I am a warrior. But I'm a girl too."

Sokka groaned as lay back down, his hand on his chest.

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Mai sat in front of the Fire Princess. Azula was grinning like a mad person at the idea of her enemies experiencing what Mai was describing. She bared her teeth.

"And then?"

"The pain with return. He's in for one rough night."

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Sokka cried out. No sooner had he closed his eyes, and then the pain had returned. He moaned in agony, both hands clutching his chest. If this was what is was like to die, then Sokka wanted it to end. Anything to make the pain stop. He rolled around in his sleeping bag, his legs kicking out in his spasms of agony. Then it was all over. He lay; sweat dripping into his eyes, on the furs that made up the floor of their tent, waiting for the pain to start anew. And it didn't disappoint; Sokka's cries of pain echoed across the campsite.

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Zuko sat on the beach, one hand lazily gripping his fishing pole. His other hand was pointed off towards a small ant-crab he had discovered. Ever since he had found that he could finally create lightning, he had been practicing. Now, after several days of hard work, he could shoot small bolts of electricity out of either of his hands (A/N think "Tales of Ba Sing Se here, but with lightning). It was a technique that he felt would help him against Azula. Plus, he thought it was pretty dang cool. On the other hand, the ant-crab did _not_ think much of his ability. In fact, the miniscule crustacean practically resented his electrical attributes.

Zuko extended his pointer and middle fingers again. A small bolt of lightning shot from them, impacting the ground near his multi-legged target. The bolt threw up a cloud of sand, completely covering the ant-crab. When the cloud subsided, Zuko saw the creature trying vain to borrow through a small layer of glass that had, until just recently, not been there before. Zuko smirked and returned to his fishing. His bolt hadn't quite hit his target, but it had come close enough.

"I'll get you yet, crab."

Suddenly the fishing pole gave a violent jerk. Zuko, while surprised, managed to grab it, holding it tightly in both hands. Despite this, the pole continued to pull him along the beach towards the water. Zuko hung on grimly, his feet dug into the sandy ground. Just when he thought that he had won the battle, the pole gave one final jerk, which was strong enough to wrench it from his hands. As Zuko watched, the pole, which was his only means of catching dinner, was dragged through the sand and into the ocean. He watched it as it swiftly shrunk from view. Zuko's confusion was soon answered; an elephant koi leapt out of the water, the faint silhouette of a _fishing pole_ behind it. Zuko leaped to his feet and shook his fist at the fish.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Muttering several obscenities that questioned the ancestry of the fish, the ocean, his defective fishing pole, and even the ant-crab, Zuko turned and stalked off towards the tree.

At least fruit didn't swim away from you.

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Katara pushed aside a branch; there, in front of her, was the campsite. She breathed a sigh of relief, already heading for the tent; and her brother. She was almost to the fire pit when she heard the very thing she was terrified of hearing: her big brother's cries of agony. Katara, abandoning all grace and natural calmness, sprinted the last few feet to the tent. She threw aside the flap in her hast.

"Sokka!"

Katara's brother lay on the bed of furs and blankets, his eyes screwed up in pain. His hands were once again clutching the various skins littering the floor of the tent. Sweat was pouring down his face, and he was still making the horrible sound. Acting on instinct, Katara did the one thing that she knew she had to do; that she had always done for him. She sat down next to him and grabbed his head in her hands, pulling him to her shoulder and wrapped one arm around his head. Instantly she felt his spasms lessen; his screaming quieted. Two fat tears fell from her yes and landed on his shaven head, followed by several more. Katara wept openly as she sang softly to her brother. It was an older lullaby; her mother had sung it to her once, when she was very ill.

_"The ice is so cold,_

_And the ocean so deep,_

_I lie here with you_

_As you drift off to sleep,_

_Remember my name,_

_And remember my face,_

_As we lie here __in_

_The spirit's good grace,_

_So be brave my love,_

_And try not to fear,_

_For your mother is here,_

_Your mother is here."_

Katara felt Sokka slump in her arms. Carefully, she laid him back down on the furs. The warrior's eyes were closed, his features relaxed. Despite herself, Katara cried out; fearing the worst. She pressed her hand to Sokka's chest, concentrating hard. A noise behind her made her turn her head; but her hand remained on Sokka's chest, directly over his heart. Aang was stooped in the doorway, a look of concern on his face.

"Katara?"

Katara stared back at him, seeing the look on her face was more heart-breaking and sad then anything he could remember, even finding the remains of his Master; his friend. Katara reached her hand out, her appendage searching across the floor until she found his. She grasped it and squeezed. Aang raised his storm grey eyes to her sapphire blue ones once more.

"Katara?"

A'N Sorry it was kinda on the short side guys. Anyways...what do you think? Also, The lullaby that Katara sings makes much more melodic sense in my head. Try thinking "Pippin's Song" in "Return of the King". The lines are carried out in that fashion.


	17. The Seige of Vin Di'o

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Six: The Siege of Vin Di'o**

"Aang, let's take another look at your back."

Aang looked up at the slender Water Tribe girl, at the long brown hair that fell unbraided into her eyes. And what lovely eyes they were; as mysterious, deep, and foreboding as the ocean itself. Aang could see the sorrow that lurked behind them, threatening to break free at any moment. Aang continued to stare at her; his eyes lost in her beauty, even at a time like this. It wasn't until she had to repeat herself, in a slightly annoyed tone, that he knew this was an order, not a request. Aang got to his feet and followed Katara away from the tent. The young Airbender looked back one last time, before turning a corner and losing sight of the camp.

Toph sat next to the fire, her hands clutched around her knees, which were pulled up to her chin. A thousand different thoughts were all swirling through her head. The main emotion she was feeling was concern. Katara had not said anything when she had emerged from the tent, but the hard emotion-less tone of her voice told Toph more than she needed to know. Toph could feel the heart beat; could identify it as Sokka's. Something about the way his heart beat was more informative then anything Katara could have told her. When Toph was eight years old, a woman in her town had fallen ill. The town doctors and healers had been amazed when the eight year old Toph Bei Fong had strolled into their midst and announced that the woman had been poisoned. Toph had been right, of course, and this had puzzled the doctors even more; how had she known, without any medical knowledge or inside information?

Toph sat with her sightless eyes closed, her knees drawn up close to her chin. She was concentrating on Sokka's heartbeat, following every tremor and flutter. How alike his heartbeat was to another she had felt, nearly four years ago…

Toph's eyes shot open. That was it! Sokka had been poisoned! Then her eyes filled with tears again. When Katara had emerged from the tent, her voice had been unenthusiastic and dead sounding; the voice of a woman who had lost hope. Toph closed her eyes again, her head held in her hands, tears spilling between the fingers. The little blind girl sat; praying, and crying, for the warrior she had come to think of as a brother.

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Zuko lay on the ground, his hand outstretched, two fingers extended. With almost surgical precision, he shot a small bolt of fire that completely severed the stem of an apple hanging overhead. The ripe fruit dropped from the tree, falling into a basket underneath. Zuko turned his fingers on another fruit, the firebolt blasting from his appendages with deadly accuracy. As he shot down the fruit, he sang an old song under his breath.

_Out in the night the brightest light  
__The light of fires burning  
__And the soldiers fled all filled with dread  
__As the war machine kept turning_

_The boulders rolled as the bells were tolled  
__At the dawn of a brand new day  
__All the stories to tell as the ashes fell  
__At the Siege of Ba Sing Se_

_That grand old wall so strong and tall  
__No match for the soldier's fire  
__We planned away and won the day  
__With a general who knew no tire_

_But then it came there was a name  
__Lu Ten was what he shouted  
__His son had died and although we tried  
__The battle then was routed_

_That was the day we went away  
__And Iroh disgraced his nation  
__He had just returned and then he learned  
__That he'd lost his station_

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"Aang, is Sokka going to die?"

Aang looked up, the ball of water formed in his hand losing its shape and splashing back into the river. The question had caught him unaware; not because he was in anyways not ready for it, quite the contrary actually, but because he really did not want to answer it. He knew how much Katara cared about her brother; how much she loved him.

_But_ he thought, _just because I say he won't die doesn't mean he won't._

Aloud he said "I don't know."

The answer seemed to please Katara. At least, she didn't jump down his throat like she had been doing every time he had said something in the hour they had been Waterbending. He grinned half heartedly at her. And slowly, amazingly, she smiled back. It was a sad smile; a forced expression she probably didn't mean, but it made Aang feel good inside that he could still make her smile. The Water Tribe girl Bended a handful of water and then let it fall, feeling the moisture run between her fingers before falling back to the river below.

"Don't ever die, Aang."

"Katara, I can't promise that."

"Please, Aang? How do you think I would feel if my…you died right after Sokka?"

Aang glanced down at the slowly flowing water, his hand behind his head. He really did not want to answer her; if only for the reason that she might start crying again. He would have given anything to make her feel better; anything to see her smile again. A real smile, not one that was forced or full of sadness. Aang sighed and walked over to Katara, fighting the currant the whole way. She was standing in the shallows, her head down, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Aang took a deep breath, and then reached his hand out. Katara looked up in surprise as she felt something touch her hand. She then looked down and saw Aang holding her hand. His was soft and gentle. She looked up into his eyes…

"I promise I won't die, Katara."

Even as he said it, and relief spread through Katara's body, she suddenly realized the absurdity of it. How could anyone, especially the Avatar, _promise_ to not die? It was silly, and it was desperate. Would everyone who hated and despised the Avatar promise _not_ to kill him, if they ever got the chance? Still, Katara was just desperate enough to hold onto any small hope that her little family would not be torn apart. Katara took a breath, then two, then pulled her hand away from Aang's and turned her back to him.

"_How_ can you promise that, Aang? After what Azula did to you?"

Now Aang was really confused. Katara had asked…_pleaded with_ him to promise her the impossible. And he had done it. Aang took another deep breath.

"I promise that no one with ever kill me."

Katara turned back too Aang, the tears threatening to appear. Now it was Katara's turn to take Aang's hand. Aang took yet another deep breath before continuing.

"I promise that no one will ever take me away from you."

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Suki opened her eyes. Judging from the orange glow coming from the window, it was sundown. She spared two moments trying to figure out what had woken her up, but then thought better of it and eased her eyes shut again. Several blissful seconds of sleep followed before someone shook her shoulder. Hard. Suki shot bolt upright, one hand already reaching for her fans, which she always kept close to her bedside. Of course, she probably would have had more success if her fans had not been taken from her. Suki heard agonized breathing and turned toward the source.

There stood the woman Hina, one hand still out stretched, the other clutching her side. Suki looked closer and gasped. She could see the horrid wound that had been slashed there; the blood spilling out, staining Hina's clothes. Even as Suki opened her mouth to ask, Hina held up a hand.

"There is no time, child. He is here."

Suki could hear the panic and fear in the older woman's voice.

"Who? Who is here? Hina, you're-"

"I know I am, child. But he must not find you. You must leave!"

Suki continued to stare, continued to try to make sense of the situation. Hina saw the hesitation in her eyes, and, moving faster than Suki ever would have expecting her to, seized Suki's arm and tried to pull her off the bed.

"My fate is sealed, child. But you do not have to die!"

Suki repeated the last word, as if she had not heard it.

"Die…"

Hina pulled harder, finally succeeding in dragging Suki off the bed. The Kyoshi Warrior got to her feet, still trying to piece together what was happening. Hina, seeing Suki was on her feet, grabbed her hand and began pulling her towards the door again.

"A pack as been prepared for you. I'm sorry we couldn't have done more for you."

Suki turned to the old woman.

"You've done enough. Now it's my turn to do something for you."

Hina shook her head.

"No! He is too dangerous. He would burn you before you get within ten paces of him."

Suki looked around.

"I need a weapon."

"This is all that we can spare."

Suki reached out and took the short sword that the woman handed her. She gave it a few test swings, and then tucked it into her belt. She felt something thrust into her hands. She looked down and found a worn traveling pack. She swung it over her shoulder, barely securing it before Hina took her hand again; leading her down a flight of stairs. As she passed it, Suki glanced out a window. Nearly the whole village was on fire. Among the flames, she could see Firebenders. More Firebenders then she even knew existed. Hina spoke as they ran.

"Yes. The Fire Nation has finally overrun the mighty village of Vin Di'o."

The two women rounded a corner and came to a halt. Hina gave Suki a push.

"Go straight out that door and into the woods."

Suki turned to face the old woman.

"Isn't there anything I can-"

"You can leave now and make sure we didn't heal you just to see you die."

"But I can fight."

Hina threw back her head and laughed.

"You think steel can fight against fire? Leave now, while you still have your life."

Suki placed her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I won't forget you-"

Hina pushed Suki out of the door.

Go! Quickly!"

Suki nodded once, just once, then turned and ran towards the trees. Now that she was outside, she could see that it was, in fact, night. The orange light she had taken to be the setting sun was really the glow of the thousands of fires, whether natural or Bender-Made, that burned.

Suki reached the tree line, where she stopped for breath. She turned towards the village, to see it…one last time. As she watched, the hospital where she had been saved burst into flames. The light was so brilliant that she had to cover her eyes. When she opened them, the hospital was completely engulfed. Suki allowed herself to feel one moment of sorrow for the kind old woman who had healed her.

A movement out of the corner of her eye made Suki turn. She could see three figures marching toward the village center, two slightly behind the other. And then they were illuminated in a sudden flash of light, and Suki gasped. The lead figure wore the shoulder pads of a general, but his were tipped with yellow. But what really drew attention to him was his face. Because Suki couldn't see it. The entire front of the man's head was covered in a chilling Death's Head mask. (If you've played Jade Empire, think of the mask Death's Hand wears.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn found Katara sitting in the tent, tending to Sokka. The warrior had not spoken in over twelve hours, and this alarmed Katara. She knew that one of her brother's personality traits was talking. In fact, Sokka had not done much of anything in the last twelve hours. Apart from the occasional gasp or shudder, he looked for the entire world like a normal sixteen year old boy who was fast asleep. Katara Bended the dirty water from the rag she was using to wipe Sokka's brow. She let it fall into a stone basin that was sitting next her, then submerged the rag in another basin filled with clean water that Aang had collected from the stream.

Katara didn't even look up as the tent flap was pulled back, reveling Toph. The blind Earthbender sat down on the tent floor across from Katara and watched her wipe Sokka's brow. A moment passed, and then two.

"Katara, can I talk to you?"

Katara looked up from what she was doing; Tending to her big brother, in this case.

"Of course, Toph. What is it?"

"There's something I need to tell you. About Sokka."

Katara nodded understandingly.

"I know. I'm worried about him too."

Toph sighed.

"That wasn't what I was going to say. How is he?"

"He's got a fever, and he won't stop shaking. What did you want to tell me?"

Toph took a deep breath.

"Katara, Sokka's been poisoned."

Katara stared at the Earthbender for several seconds. Finally regaining herself, she bombarded Toph with questions; some of which Toph couldn't answer.

"At you sure? How can you tell? Will he be ok?"

Toph grabbed Katara by the shoulders.

"Yes. I'm sure. I can feel his heartbeat, and it has been slowing down for the last few hours now."

"Ooh."

That was all Katara could manage.

"Toph, did you say his heart is…_slowing down?"_

"Unfortunately…yes."

Katara buried her head in Sokka's tunic, her eyes threatening her with hints of moisture.

"Oh Spirits!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sokka opened his eyes, and then quickly shut them again. A light brighter than anything her was prepared for was hanging high above him. He cracked his eyes open inch by inch, at last finding that he could look at the light without squinting. He sat up, gingerly rubbing his head. His first thought, as he looked around, was that he was not in the tent. He did not seem to be in the same forest even. In fact, this looked like another…

"Oh man! As if the last swamp wasn't bad enough!"

Sokka climbed to his feet. He was amazed that the horrible pain was gone. In fact, he felt great. Better than he had in a long time. Sokka stretched his muscles, hearing several something's pop and crackle. By the Ocean Spirit it felt good. Sokka turned his head in one direction, and then in the other. He turned his head the other way in one last attempt to see anything that might help him figure out where he was, then sighed.

"I guess I better start walking."

"Why? All the fun's right here."

Sokka acted instinctively to the unfamiliar voice. He turned towards where it was coming from, drawing his machete as he did so. What he saw before him was…not what he expected. In front of Sokka stood a tall man dressed in a Water Tribe parka. Sokka's surprise must have shown as awe, because the man immediately started boasting.

"Don't worry. I usually get that reaction from people, lad."

Sokka raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Do I…know you?"

The strange man looked Sokka up and down before answering.

"Well I would expect you to. You're Hakota's boy, aren't you?"

"How do you know…?"

"Your father's name? I like to follow along my family lines, kid."

"_Your family lines_? So we're related now?"

"Is that such a bad thing, Sokka?"

"I dunno. Who are you?"

"Name's Kuruk. Avatar Kuruk."

"You were an Avatar?"

"Yep. Best there ever was."

"Uh huh. And we're related."

"That's right. Ever wonder why your sister's such a powerful Waterbender?"

"Natural talent?"

"Nope. She's related to me"

Sokka sighed.

"Fine. Great. I'm here. You're here. Where are we?"

"This? This is the spirit world."

"And why am I here? I'm not a spirit."

"Aren't you?"

"What-"

"You died an hour ago, Sokka."

Sokka paled. He stared at Avatar Kuruk, who nodded grimly. Sokka took a gulp of air. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"So…why are you here?"

"To welcome to the family…of course."

Sokka gaze drooped. He was dead. He would never see his baby sister again. He looked up as Avatar Kuruk spoke again.

"But, fortunately for you, that time is a long way off."

Sokka stared, hardly daring to believe it. Kuruk continued.

"It is not your time. I'm sending you back."

Sokka looked at him inquisitively.

"Why?"

Kuruk raised an eyebrow.

"Would you like to stay here?"

Sokka raised his hands.

"No. That's perfectly fine. What do I do?"

Kuruk let out a great booming laugh.

"Do? Why, you do nothing. Just…give you sister a kiss for me."

Before Sokka could reply, Kuruk raised his hands. Two ropes of water rose out of the swampy pool in which Sokka was standing and grabbed his arms. Sokka got one last look at the spirit world before he his vision was lost in blinding white light.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Katara sat, holding her brother's limp hand. The Waterbender had been crying, off and on, for the better part of an hour now. She couldn't help but remember all the times that Sokka had been there for her when no else was. And then she thought of all the times in the future when he wouldn't be there, and broke down, sobbing into his shoulder. To say that she was unprepared for what happened next would be accurate.

"Katara?"

Katara jumped. She literally jumped. Not because she was in anyway frightened of him or his voice, but because she wasn't expecting to ever hear it again. As if to confirm her sudden hopes, Sokka's hand suddenly tightened around her own. Katara's squeal of delight filled the tent. She was staring into her brother's eyes when they opened. Caught up in the rush of emotions, Katara bent down and kissed the tip of his nose. And then his forehead. And then his cheek. All the time, she kept repeating three words.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

A/N Sorry it took so long everyone. I had the biggest case of writers block. Plus I had to do some stuff for college and what-not. Oh, and MyOtherName...I finally saw the Bourne Ultimatum. Fricken coolest movie ever. Hope you guys enjoy this. I've gotten quite a few good reviews.


	18. The Runaway

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book Three: Fire**

**Chapter Six: The Runaway**

Zuko returned to camp in the wee hours of the morning to find everyone, of course, still asleep. A very tired Zuko dropped his heavy bag of fruit in the center of the camp. He found the softest bit of earth he possible could, one that was covered in dry leaves and somewhat comfortable, and collapsed. Sleep had come quickly for the exhausted Firebender. He had awoken well after the sun was up. Zuko opened one eye, the morning sun temporarily blinding him, and took in his surroundings. Katara and Toph were sitting on a log a little ways away. The excited sound of their voices drifted over to Zuko. Of the Avatar, there was no sign. Zuko yawned and sat up, stretching his muscles and he did so. He heard something, probably his back, pop.

Katara noticed the Firebender stir. She glanced at him and their eyes met. Katara flashed Zuko a good natured smile, before turning back to Toph. As Zuko watched, she got up a second later and entered the tent. Zuko rose to his feet and walked over to the log that Toph was sitting on. The blind Earthbender didn't even look up.

"Morning, Hot Streak."

"You know it creeps me out when you do that."

"Well excuse me for being blind."

"Heh Heh. Sorry."

Zuko deftly switched the subject of the conversation.

"Why does Katara look so happy?"

"Didn't you hear? Sokka just woke up."

"I'm happy for him. But so what?"

Toph raised her sightless eyes to meet Zuko's stare.

"So what? Don't you know what just happened to him?"

"No…Should I have?"

"Zuko, Sokka was poisoned. We all thought he was going to die."

Zuko sat still for a whole minute, trying to wrap his brain around the concept. He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it a second later. Thinking quickly, he opened his mouth again, this time getting sound out.

"Abah?"

Toph stood still for a split second, looking the Firebender up and down.

"Um…come again?"

Zuko chose his words carefully this time.

"He hurt how?"

Toph raised an eyebrow.

"Does everyone in your family talk this way?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Ohh…no reason."

"So…how did Sokka…?"

Zuko fell silent as he answered his own question.

"Mai."

Toph looked up and him questioningly.

"Um…who's Mai?"

Zuko spoke; more to himself then to Toph.

"She must have…but with what?"

To Toph, he asked "Do we have any of those darts left?"

"You mean the ones you pulled out of Sokka?"

"No. The other metal darts we keep with us at all times."

"Was that…_sarcasm_, Fireboy?"

"Just get me a dart."

"Ok. Ok. Just…calm down."

------

Katara stuck her head in the tent. Her brother was sitting up in his bed, looking at his boomerang. Katara walked over and sat next to her big brother. Sokka seemed to not register her presence until she kissed him on the cheek. Sokka quickly exited whatever private world he was lost in, and turned to his sister. Katara could tell he had something on his mind. And, according to her nature, she decided to ask outright what it was.

"What's on your mind?"

Sokka didn't answer right away. He stared at his sister, as if he had not seen her in awhile; which, arguably, he had not. When he spoke, his voice was serious. Katara knew he wouldn't take any nonsense. Straight to the point. Katara sighed. She hated when he got like this.

"Katara, we need to leave."

Katara was taken aback.

"Leave? Why?"

"We can't stay here. We've already wasted enough time already."

"Wasted time? We were waiting for you to get better…"

"Waiting for me to die you mean."

"Sokka! How could you say that?"

"Well…that's what would have happen if Avatar Kuruk didn't send me back. In fact…I did DIE!"

Sokka was almost shouting now. Katara shrunk back, a hurt expression crossing her beautiful browned face. She spoke in a small voice.

"Sokka…?"

"Did you even TRY to heal me?"

There were tears in Katara's eyes.

"Y-yes. Of course I di-did."

Sokka stared at his little sister, an ugly grimace on his face. He could see the hurt in her eyes; the fear on her face. Katara's lip wobbled, as if she was close to breaking down. Sokka's expression softened instantly.

"Katara…I…"

"Why would you say that? After you know about Mom…why would you…If my brother died…I wanted you to heal…I really did…I couldn't stand it if you…if you…"

Katara leapt to her feet and ran out of the tent sobbing. The only things of hers that lingered were two small teardrops on the floor of the tent. Sokka stared out after his sister, and then sat up, wincing slightly.

"It's been long enough. We need to leave."

------

Zuko sat on one of the logs in the makeshift campsite. His fist was closed around one of the darts that Toph had brought him, green flames surrounding it. Toph listened to the fire burn, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Zuko, what kind of poison is it?"

"Popo Yen poison."

"Popo Yen?"

"Yes. It's made from ingredients found only in the Fire Nation. Part of my "royal" training was learning to make the stuff. I never had an interest in it."

"So your sister put some dangerous poison on these darts?"

"_Not_ my sister. Mai."

Toph scratched her head.

"Mai?"

Zuko nodded.

"Mai."

------

Aang was in the forest. _Taking a walk_ was what he told Katara, but the truth was, her was furious with himself. He angrily blasted bushes and rocks out of his way with concentrated bursts of Air and Earthbending. Aang closed his eyes in concentration, his body shaking before a nearby tree was sucked dry, its water flowing to the young Avatar, who brought his hand slashing downward, propelling the water over and through a rock, causing it to fall in several pieces, its edges smooth were the water had cut in as smoothly as if it had been cut with a sharp knife.

Aang turned on his heel, letting an animal like growl escape his throat. He sprang at another tree. This time, however, he punched the rock hard bark. And then punched it again. And again. A full minute passed, and at last Aang ceased his violent attack on the foliage. His hands ached and bled it several places. He sank to his knees, his breathe coming in harsh gasps. When he had his breathe back, the young Airbender raised his head and yelled at the sky.

"Here I am, Fire lord! Why don't you come face me yourself? Stop hurting my friends. You want me? Well here I am!"

A noise behind Aang caused the enraged Avatar to turn. His first reaction was the one he took. Raising his hand in a warding motion, he sent a lethally sharp shard of rock hurtling toward the Fire Lord. Time seemed to stand still for Aang. Looking back at him across the clearing was not Fire Lord Ozai, but Katara! Even as his brain registered this, he realized that he had JUST ATTACKED HIS BEST FRIEND! He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but it was not needed.

Katara, acting with un-humanlike reflexes, sent her own shard, this one of ice, toward the missile that was speeding toward her face. The ice intercepted most of the rock, stopping it fully. The remaining small chunk of rock, which had been cut away from the main body by the ice, was still racing toward her face. While not big enough to cause a vital injury, she still had had no intention of letting it strike her. But she had run out of time.

Katara was lucky. The rock shard missed her cheek. But just barely. It scraped her as it whistled by. The speeding stone cut through her flesh as quickly and effectively as her Waterbending could cut through metal. She cried out as she put a hand to the wound. When she brought the hand away, it was _red_. She stifled another small cry as she felt the blood boil down her face. The wound was small, but it was deep. She could feel a small piece of rock embedded in her face. She raised her hand to her face again, her eyes shining. She turned her back to Aang. She wouldn't cry in fount of him. She _wouldn't_.

Aang stood in silence, questioning his sanity. Why would Ozai be here, in the woods? Why would anyone who wanted to attack him be here…now? Why was he so on edge? And how would he ever apologize to Katara? He had never hurt her before, and he hadn't been planning on ever doing it. And now he was staring at the back of his best friend, as she stood bleeding from _his_ attack. Her body shook. Aang took one step towards her, stepping lightly, not wanting to make much noise, for some reason. He took another step and then looked up at her form. She hadn't moved. Aang swallowed and then closed the distance between them. He stopped short, wondering if he should try to counsel her. He reached his hand out and placed it on her shoulder. A second passed…then another, and then Katara placed her hand over Aang's. Aang stood, not feeling the rush of emotions her usually experienced when he was even within a short distance of Katara. Instead he felt…_guilty_. More guilty than ever before.

Katara felt the hand on her shoulder; a light touch that caused her to break down even more. He had attacked her. Aang had attacked her. Katara let his hand rest on her shoulder for several seconds, and then brought her hand over his. Hearing a mumbling sound behind her, she turned, letting Aang's hand fall from her shoulder. She faced the Avatar; the latter's head was down, his mumbled words directed towards the left covered forest floor. Katara raised his head with a hand placed under his chin.

Aang allowed his head to be brought up; allowed himself to face _her_. He gasped when he took in the sight before him. There was Katara, as bright and beautiful as before, but from her cheek down, the left side of her face was _red_. Aang was surprised at how much her _small_ cut was bleeding. Katara took his hand, waited several seconds, and then spoke.

"Aang…why?"

Aang looked down, searching for an answer. He opened his mouth to speak, but Katara cut him off.

"Look at me, Aang."

Aang raised his head again. Katara placed her hand over her bleeding cheek again.

"Look what you did to me, Aang. Why would you do that to anyone? To me?"

"Katara…" Aang's voice trailed off, and then picked up again. "…was on edge. I was thinking about the Fire Lord, about what happened to Sokka…"

"Aang…about Sokka…"

"Katara…don't tell me…that he's…_dead_."

Katara looked shocked, and then pulled Aang into a tight embrace. Tears ran down her face.

"He's alive, Aang"

Aang felt a pang of joy hit him. Sokka…alive…?

Aang broke the hug, and held Katara at arm's length.

"Katara…that's great!"

Aang's joyful smile slowly faded when he saw Katara's cheek, reminding him of what he'd done. He reached out and put his hand on her cheek, then brought it away. He stared at his hand, stained with her blood. Katara grabbed his hand.

"Aang…please don't blame yourself. It's fine, really."

Aang turned away.

"No it's not, Katara. I never want to hurt any of my friends, especially you. Can't you heal it or something?"

"Why? Is it bothering you?"

"It's just…every time I see it, it's like replaying a scene in my mind. I hurt you. Please."

"Aang, all my water is gone. I used the last of it to block that rock."

"So I could have killed you…you were almost out of water..."

"Aang…no…"

Aang turned back to Katara, not knowing that she had stepped towards him. Now they were inches apart. Aang felt heat grace his cheeks. He took a deep breath, wondering what in the hell he was doing.

"I'm sorry, Katara. I never want to see anything bad happen to you…because…well..."

Aang gulped. Katara looked at him, a puzzled look in her eyes.

"Yes, Aang?"

Aang took a deep breath.

"I love you, Katara."

Katara had time for one small gasp before Aang leaned in and_ kissed her_! She was shocked, but then gave in to the moment. A second passed, however, and Katara pulled away from Aang. The Airbender had a puzzled look on his face.

"Katara?"

Katara just stared at him, and then pulled him into a bone-breaking hug.

"Oh, Aang."

A/N Yippee! Hooray! It happened! And I'm back! I know it was on the short side for me…just 2,143 words, but I still took a long ass time to write it. Part of that was the fact that I have school and work pretty much every day…work that is. And part of It is because Avatar Book 3 is finally out, and I didn't know if anyone would still read my stuff…but if you really enjoy it, then leave me a nice long comment!

Peace – Quiet Wyatt out


	19. The Runaway Part Two

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book 3: Fire**

**Chapter 6: The Runaway**

**Part Two**

The late afternoon sun shone down on the campsite. It was small as camps go, but there were only five people at this particular campsite. One was an Airbender who loved to sleep on top of his flying bison, and so had no need for a tent. Another was a Master Earthbender, who could create her own tent in a heartbeat. The third was a Firebender who preferred the open air to a tent any day. And the last two were siblings from the Southern Water Tribe. They had grown up in a tent, and so considered it a safe haven. Both from the elements and from their companions; who, despite them being almost family, did get on the nerves of these two siblings.

Sokka, the eldest of the two Water Tribe siblings, sat on a log whose immediate job was to serve as a seat. He stuck his hands over the fire, the warmth driving the Earth Kingdom chill from his hands. Sokka, mentally declaring that his hands were warm enough, reached into the bag to grab another mango. Zuko sat across from him, watching the spoils of his long gathering session going directly to the Water Tribe warrior's stomach. Toph sat a ways away from the two, her feet concentrating on the vibrations. She winced as she felt the slight tremors of Sokka's mango pit striking the ground. She raised an eyebrow.

"Hungry, Sokka?"

Sokka nodded, his mouth too full to speak. Zuko laughed.

"I guess dying really works up an appetite."

Sokka swallowed his mouthful of mango.

"You can say that again."

Toph slowly bent down and picked up one of Sokka's discarded mango pips. She gave the ground a slight pound and listened to make sure he wasn't watching her. Satisfied that he hadn't seen her, she sat up again and started whistling. Sokka was halfway through another mango when a spent seed hit him in the head.

"Ow! Hey, I have feelings you know."

Sokka rubbed his head, glaring at Zuko and Toph, who were laughing hysterically. Zuko was first to regain his composer. The Fire Prince held his sides, his cheeks still shaking with mirth. He caught his breath.

"I don't know why that was so funny, but it was."

Toph Earthbended a shelf of rock up behind herself and laid back.

"Probably because we've all been through a few days of hell. By the way Snoozles, it's good to have you back."

Sokka downed the rest of the mango in one.

"Good to be back."

Toph leaned in closer.

"So, what's the Spirit World like?"

------

"Aang, where do you think we go when we die?"

Aang looked down at the young Waterbender laying against his legs. The last thirty minutes had been some of the happiest of his short life. In that short half-hour, he had kissed the girl of his dreams. And she hadn't turned him away…in fact, she had been just as willing as he had been. And then she had said something that had turned his world upside down.

_"I was waiting for this moment ever since you told me I was your best friend."_

And now Aang looked down at Katara, a goofy smile on his face. And then he spoke.

"Katara please, let's not talk about death. Not right now."

He could see the disappointment on her face. Her beautiful brown face. Aang looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You were really expecting an answer, weren't you?"

"I just wanted to know what the Airbender version of the afterlife was like."

"I don't think there is an Airbender afterlife. Whenever someone died at the temple, the monks just said that their soul had gone to the Great Air Temple in the sky."

Katara raised an eyebrow.

"But all Airbender temples are in the sky."

Aang chuckled.

"I know."

------

"So that's what's waiting for us? A giant swamp?"

Toph folded her arms across her chest after her outburst. Sokka brought the water skin to his lips, drinking deeply. He set it down and, after wiping his mouth, answered the petite Earthbender.

"Well, in your case, I think the Spirits would make an exception."

Toph jumped up excitedly.

"You really think so?"

Sokka nodded, already reach for another mango. Zuko winced slightly. This was Sokka's eighth mango. Sokka bit into it, juice dripping onto the ground. Momo sat right in front of Sokka, hoping for some food. Sokka gave him an affectionate scratch behind the ears.

"Hey, Momo. Did you miss me too?"

For an answer, Momo suddenly grabbed the remainder of the mango and flew off with it clutched in his claws. Sokka's shouts of outrage were ignored by the little lemur. Sokka shook his fist at the rapidly disappearing figure.

"Fine, take the stupid mango! But I always thought a lemur named "Momo" should like peaches!"

------

A sudden sound made Aang jerk his head up. It was not much, just the slight crack of a branch being broken, but it was enough to put him on the alert. Katara looked up at the sudden movement. She hadn't heard anything.

"Aang? What's wrong?"

"I hear something. Listen."

"I don't…hear anything."

"Exactly. There are no birds singing."

"Hey, you're right. I wonder where they are."

The tranquil moment was ruined when a fireball came speeding out from among the trees. Aang acted swiftly, Airbending Katara away from himself. The Waterbender flew several feet before landing in a heap on the ground. While she would wake up sore the next day, it was preferable to becoming barbecue. Aang leapt to his feet, slightly propelled by a concentrated jet of Air. He turned toward the direction the attack had come from…and saw nothing. No menacing group of Firebenders, no Rhinos, no tanks…absolutely nothing to indicate danger. The only evidence that the attack had taken place was the small crater next to Aang's feet. This close, he could feel the intense heat. Looking closer, he saw that the dirt on the inside of the crater had turned to glass.

Aang was still looking around when the attack came from the one place he wasn't expecting: straight above him. The young Avatar had time for one gasp of surprise before the world became a raging inferno. Aang raised his hands in a useless gesture to repel the danger…after all, it was FIRE. But the attack was not directed at him. The Airbender barely had time to shout a warning before he heard a sound that stopped his heart. He had heard it before, of course: the time he had burned Katara while training with Jeong Jeong…the day he had sworn to never Firebend again. Aang turned his head, almost in slow motion, terrified of what he would see. There was Katara, her mouth open in a scream of pain. He could see where the bitter heat had consumed part of her leggings…and where the piercing fire had burned her skin black. Katara sank to her knees, sobbing. Aang acted on instinct: he leapt into the air…only to be brought down by a strong kick to the back. Aang hit the ground hard, the air rushing out of his lungs. He rolled to his side and sprang up…_and froze_.

The man standing in front of Aang was someone out of a nightmare. From his boots to his breastplate, his attire was entirely black. But Aang's gaze was frozen on the face. A single black band of cloth covered the man's eyes, and black wire tattoos seemed to stretch his mouth line farther than humanly possible. The man had a clean shaven head, and an utter lack of sideburns, which, in Aang's limited experience, was unusual with middle aged Fire Nation men. The strange man stood between Aang and Katara, the latter still holding her blacken skin and giving off small sniffling sounds. The man didn't speak, but he kept his cloth covered eyes trained on Aang, and his fist pointed at Katara. Even if he didn't speak, the meaning was clear.

_If either of you moves, the other dies._

Aang gulped. The man whirled his fist towards the sound and shot a ball of blue-white flames in Aang's direction, which the Avatar avoided by ducking down. He felt the extreme heat as it passed over. The man relaxed his hand. Aang decided to chance negotiation over hostility. He braced himself, and then spoke.

"What do you want?"

The figure did not answer right away. It, or rather he, seemed to be taking his time. And then, after what seemed like a full lifetime, but was really only a few seconds, the figure pointed towards Aang. The Avatar slapped his face.

_Like I was expecting anything else._

Katara's angry voice broke the silence.

"I won't let you take him!"

The figure turned so fast he appeared to blur. His fist shot out and launched a fireball to Katara's left. Aang gave a sigh of relief as he saw Katara begin to leap to the side to avoid it, but almost immediately he saw the figure bring up the other fist and launch a ball to Katara's right. Aang's eye's followed the fireball as it flew towards its intended target. He closed his eyes, but he couldn't close his ears. Katara cried out again, her shouts of agony echoed over the clearing. Aang observed with horror the angry red and white skin covering her shoulder. Katara bravely struggled back to her feet and assumed a fighting stance.

"Katara, stop! You can't fight him. You have no water left!"

"Yes I can, Aang. Hey freak, is that all you've got?"

The figure spared her one glance, and then turned back to Aang. He pointed at Aang, and then to himself…_Come with me_…and then he pointed towards Katara and drew his finger across his throat…_or the girl dies_…

Aang knew he was out matched. He lowered his hands and held them loosely by his sides. He let his head drop, his eyes closed, tears running down his face at his one and only option. He held up his hand.

"Ok, I'll go with you."

"No! Listen, you'll have to kill me because you're not taking him!"

"Katara! NO!"

But it was too late. The figure raised his hands…Aang braced himself…and pointed at Katara. Aang heard a noise in the surrounding woods…and then the air was thick with arrows. Aang reacted almost as if he didn't have control of his body. He waved his hands seemingly without control; this was one of the advanced Airbending forms he had been working on when he had made the critical decision to leave the Air Temple. Swirling his hands around, Aang felt the winds growing stronger. He directed the gathered winds at the arrows, which had closed the distance to Katara in the few short seconds he had needed to ready his technique. He saw the arrows blow off course and stick in whatever they came into acquaintance with. Luckily, none of them hit Katara. She stared at Aang, who found himself yelling at her.

"Run, Katara! Go on!"

But Katara wouldn't move. The mysterious figure was turning towards her. Aang leapt in the Air again. This time, however, he was able to get off a quick, but powerful, blast to the figure's back. The strange man was knocked against a tree. From his shallow breathing, Aang could see that he would recover momentarily. He turned back to Katara.

"Go on, Katara! Get out of here! Just…get out of here!"

There were tears in Katara's eyes. She stood still, watching Aang. The Avatar could hear the sounds of Fire Nation troops running towards the clearing. He gave Katara a pleading look.

"Please, Katara. I won't let you die for me."

When Katara didn't move, Aang Earthbended a stone to fly up and speed into the tree next to her.

"GO!"

Katara finally moved, turning her back on Aang and running in the opposite direction of the young Avatar. Aang watched her until she was gone, and then lowered his hands. They were immediately pinned to the tree by the sleeves by precise arrow shots.

------

Katara pushed through another bush, trying to find her way back to the camp. She was now sobbing hysterically, mostly because of Aang's actions, and the ugly necessity of them. The burns on her leg and shoulder were not hurting as much as she thought, but when she inspected them, she found blackened and burned flesh, and a wound that was actually deep. Thinking back to her healing lesson with Yagoda back at the Northern Water Tribe, Katara realized that there must be some nerve damage, and that even though she couldn't feel the pain, she was badly injured. She desperately needed to find some water to heal herself.

But her thoughts strayed back to the Avatar, and his current predicament. What would the Tattooed Man do with him? Would he take him back to the Fire Nation? Would he turn him over to Azula? Or would he…she gulped…kill him?

Glancing up, Katara spied something on the horizon. It was smoke coming from their camp! Tears still falling from her eyes, Katara started towards the smoke. Maybe they would have some water.

A/N There. Part 2 of the Runaway, which airs on TV tomorrow. I hope you all enjoy reading this story. And I mean it when I talk about leaving long reviews. The longer the better. Oh, and if you didn't get it, Katara's the runaway. She ran away from Aang. I'll have her dwell on this in the next chapter.

Peace


	20. Love and Hate

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book 3: Fire**

**Chapter 7: Love and Hate**

**Part One**

Katara's eyes shot open. She let out two deep breaths before sitting up in her bed. She unconsciously brought her hand up to her forehead and wiped away the sweat that she didn't know was there until she felt the sticky wetness between her fingers. Closing her eyes, she shook her head to dislodge any lingering thoughts. It had been ages since she had had a nightmare…let alone one about her mother. Katara reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. The second her fingers felt the rapidly drying remains of tears, her mind jumped into overdrive. What had she dreamed about exactly? Shaking her head again, she slowly removed the red blanket from over her willowy figure.

She had always prided herself on her ability to keep her body in such good shape. True, she had been forced to give up some of her favorite desserts, but that was a small price to pay to be able to run for a while without having to stop to breathe every ten feet. Plus, she liked being able to outrun her brother…as long as he was half asleep. Katara mentally berated herself. That was probably why her brother had his sexist attitude. True, it had diminished quite a bit after Suki had humiliated him, it was still there. She knew that Sokka still looked down on her. She had tried to tell herself that it was all because she was his little sister, but she knew it was more than that. She also knew that he felt the same way towards Toph. The little Earthbender had proven herself many times over, but still Sokka treated her as someone who needed protecting. And, because Toph resented being treated that way by anyone, she had proceeded to lecture Sokka, and make him promise to back off. Katara smiled at the memory. She really wished she had to heart to tell her older brother to leave her alone. Part of her was certain that protecting her was one of the things that kept Sokka going. And she knew that she meant the world to him.

Katara swung her legs out over the side of the bed and stood up. At first she felt a moment of dizziness as blood came flowing back to her legs and feet. She took a few steps and stopped. On a whim, she turned and studied herself in the mirror. Her perfect tanned skin, her brown hair that fell untamed across her face, the beauty of her face. She ran her hands over the smooth skin of her nose and her cheeks. She struck a pose, admiring the curve of her hips, her slender waist. She turned to the side, and her eyes took in the protrusion of her undergarments from her chest. She was becoming a woman, she told herself. No wonder Aang and Zuko couldn't keep their eyes off her. She smiled slightly. She was beautiful, and she knew it.

_Aang._ Just the thought of the young Avatar made Katara feel like crying. It had been a week since he had been captured in the forest. One long week of crying, apologies, angst and drama. After half listening to, and accepting, her big brother's apology, Katara had wondered into the tent, her eyes watering up. She had collapsed sobbing onto the thick carpet of musty smelling furs. Or, as Aang called them, "dead animal skins." She didn't know why he was such a strict vegetarian, nor did she ever bother to find out. Thinking back on it, Katara realized that there were many topics that she had not asked Aang about. And, for all she knew, he might be dead. Two fat tears leaked out of her eyes, followed by several more. When the tent flap had opened, she hadn't looked up, expecting Sokka. She hadn't, however, expected Zuko to comfort her. She had had Zuko pinned as the kind of guy that didn't know _how_ to comfort others.

She had cried; she had screamed; she had thrown punches; but Zuko just sat there and took everything that she needed to get out of her system. He had been understanding and nice and…great. She hadn't ever seen that side of him. After she had decided that she felt better, she gave him an innocent peck on the cheek, a silent _thank you_. And then Zuko had left. Katara had fallen asleep before her brother had entered the tent. Sokka had paused at first, wondering if he could settle himself down next to his sister without waking her. Hesitantly, he spoke her name. When he failed to get a response, Sokka spoke again, this time a little more loudly. Katara had reacted by moving her hand and patting the furs next to her, inviting her brother to lie down and sleep. Sokka smiled. Katara had forgiven him.

_And now we're on this stupid metal behemoth_, thought the present Katara. True, she was no stranger to sailing, but she much preferred the wooden deck of her Tribe's own ships. She missed feeling the rocking motion of the boat as she tried to fall asleep. And while she was glad of the seemingly miraculous discovery of the Fire Nation dreadnought that they were currently occupying, she was a little concerned because it had just happened to be where it was, when they needed it. True enough, Zuko had discovered it while Sokka was still recovering, but they had found a need for it soon enough.

Katara left her train of thoughts behind. She suddenly realized how thirsty she was. _Silly of me,_ she thought, _me being a Waterbender and not keeping myself properly hydrated._ Katara opened the door to her quarters. The hallway was quiet as she stepped out onto the cold metal floor. She let out a yelp. The cold floor was something she was still getting used to. She reached the end of the hall and started to climb the stairs. She crossed to the galley quickly and filled up one of her water pouches. Even though Zuko had shown them those things that he called "drinking cups", she still liked and trusted her pouch more. She was almost back to the stairs when she heard it. She gasped when she failed to recognize the voice. She was about to go down below and wake up Zuko and possibly Toph, when she heard who the man was speaking to.

"Prince Zuko, you are a fugitive of the Fire Nation! Heave to and stop your engines!"

But she was more surprised, and hurt, to hear Zuko's response.

"I have the Avatar's companions on board. Let me pass, and I shall deliver them to my father."


	21. Love and Hate Part Two

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book 3: Fire**

**Chapter 7: Love and Hate**

**Part Two**

"Sokka, I'm cold! And I'm tired of being at sea so long."

Sokka spared a glance at the young Earthbender. Toph was leaning against the bulkhead, her legs crossed, the ocean breeze whipping through her dark hair, making it glide across her face in, what Sokka considered, the most wonderful way. And, of course, she was whining like the twelve year girl that she rarely acted like. Sokka sighed and adjusted himself more comfortably in the hammock that he had discovered, much to his delight. Even though he had not known what it was at first, Zuko had given him a crash course in its workings. That; and he had stated that it had probably been his sister's. This fact had not fazed Sokka, who had been in the hammock for two days and a night now.

"And just what do you expect me to do about it, dear?"

Acting fast, Toph threw an apple at Sokka, which soared over his head, thus adding to his goods humor. And then she advanced on him.

"There you go calling me "dear" again. What is it with you?"

Sokka shrugged and kept swinging is Azula's/his hammock.

"I just like getting under your skin is all."

Toph retaliated by making the angriest sound she could manage, and stomped her foot. This was really a bad idea, because she just hurt her foot on the metal deck. Sure she could bend metal, but only when she was concentrating. This was something she certainly was not doing right now. She huffed and started to walk away. She was so infuriated at the young Water Tribe boy that she ran straight into Zuko. Luckily, Zuko caught Toph before she fell. As soon as she was stable, Toph started to slink away. Zuko rolled his eyes and did one of his oh-so-great impersonations.

"_Thanks for catching me Zuko._ Hey, no problem, Toph."

Toph stopped and turned.

"I'm sorry, Zuko, but Numbnuts over there in the hammock is driving me crazy."

Zuko smirked.

"Well, that hammock _was_ made for a princess, so I guess he is in the right place."

A grin slowly began to take over Toph's face.

"A princess, huh? Well, I'll be damned."

With that, she walked right up to Sokka in his hammock and bowed.

"And now I take my leave, Princess Sokka."

Sokka nodded his head. Two seconds passed, and then he spit out the piece of the mango that he was snacking on. He sat up and glared at Toph.

"Princess!?!

Sokka resorted to crude hand gestures and waving his arms around his head whilst mumbling very hurtful things…_if_ they had been audible. He suddenly stopped when he saw the look on Zuko's face. The Fire Prince was trying, and failing, to suppress the smile that was slowly taking over his face. Unfortunately, he failed to notice the piece of mango that Sokka decided to toss his way.

SPLAT!

The piece of ripe fruit smacked Zuko right in the face. It fell to the ground, but some of the juice _stuck_ around, no pun intended. Zuko wiped his face off on his sleeve and looked around. He quickly got over his anger when he saw that Sokka had actually _fallen_ out of the hammock from laughing so hard. The warrior wiped tears of mirth out of his eyes and glanced around the deck, noticing that someone else was there. He raised his hand in greeting.

"Hey, Katara. You're just a little too late. Zuko told Toph that this hammock was fit for a princess, and then I…"

Katara cut him off as she kept up her brisk pace, walking straight up to Zuko, and then rudely pushed her way past him.

"Save it, Sokka. I'm in no mood."

Sokka met Zuko's gaze and shrugged. Zuko, however, and not going to let Katara's behavior slide so easily. He put his hand to his mouth and shouted after her rapidly retreating figure.

"What's your deal? Are you angry at me or something?"

Katara halted mid step. Slowly, she turned to face him. Slowly she began to walk towards him. When she had closed the distance to just under two paces from him, she loudly began to speak her mind.

"Angry at you, Zuko? What reason would I have to be angry? Let's think. Maybe it's because of what you told that other soldier this morning. Maybe it's because that you're the Fire Lord's son! Maybe it's because your nation killed my mother!"

Zuko sighed. He knew what was going on. Everything that Katara had wanted to say to him after he had betrayed them in Ba Sing Se was now coming out. Zuko decided to just let her vent. It would be over soon, and he could surely take whatever she could throw at him. So he just stood there and let her continue to scream in his face.

"…and then you joined Azula against us. And Aang was almost killed. And you didn't care. It's like I finally started to think you were a real person and then you stabbed me in the back!"

All of a sudden rage blossomed in Zuko. He didn't have to take this. So, against his better judgment, he started yelling right back at her.

"So why didn't we have this conversation when I first joined your group? Why did you wait until now to have this little shouting match?"

"I don't know. It could have been the fact that I was able to heal Aang, and that I was happy that he was alive and I wasn't going to let anything, even_ you_, ruin that."

She paused for a second before rounding on him again.

"But now Aang is gone. Someone from _your_ nation finally caught him. So there is _nothing_ that is stopping me from being angry at you. Nothing!"

Katara shouted the last word so loud that even Toph winced. Zuko just stared at the young Waterbender. He had never heard her…shout this much. Of course, that really wasn't saying too much, considering he had only spent a few short weeks in her company. Katara huffed and stomped across the deck and through a hatch, heading, undoubtedly, to her room. Sokka let out a long, low whistle.

"Wow."

-----

Aang hated it all. He hated his cell. He hated the Fire Nation guards that continually taunted him. He hated the dry, hot air that was piped through the prison at all times of day and night. But most of all, he hated the man who had captured him. He had evaded Zuko and Azula for so long, and then some…_tattooed_ stranger just waltzed in and did the job that both of the siblings had not been able to accomplish. He did, however, like the man who inhabited the cell next to him. When he had first been throw into the arid cell, he had tried to bend air every which way, but the strong air currents had failed to even dent the metal of his cell. And he had no water on his person with which to cut the metal, and the stifling air was _devoid_ of any moisture. He was helpless.

And that was when he discovered that General Iroh was in the cell next to his.

He didn't mean to discover it, but he had overhead a _very_ familiar voice arguing with one of the guards. Aang had learned that The Dragon of the West was sentenced to death, and that the Firelord himself would be the executioner. This did not seem to diver the old man's spirits in the slightest. As soon as he had learned that Aang was occupying the cell next to his, Iroh had immediately started asking questions.

_Have you seen my nephew?_

_How are your friends?_

_Is Toph getting into any trouble?_

And Aang did his best to answer those questions.

_Yes, he joined up with me and my friends._

_They're all fine. I imagine that they're really worried about me._

_She is. But she's tough, she can handle it._

Iroh had waited a bit before asking the one question that he was sure Aang would not want to answer.

_Was it my charming niece who captured you?_

_Aang smiled at Iroh's attempt at humor.__ To call Azula 'charming' was foolish, but Iroh was the exception. Aang looked down, even though Iroh could not see his face.__ He waited a second before answering._

_"No…it wasn't Azula."_

_"Hmmm…not Zuko and not Azula…"_

_Aang took a deep breath before speaking again._

_"Whoever it was, he had black tattoos over his eyes._

_Beside his cell, he heard Iroh draw in a sharp breath._

_"Black tattoos you say? That means…"_

A/N – Ohhh, cliffhanger. I am SO evil! Sorry it's been like a billion years since I updated this. I have homework you know.


	22. The Island

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book 3: Fire**

**Chapter 8: The Island**

Toph was, as usual, in high bad spirits. She had been trapped on this metal monster for god knows how long, and she constantly had to put up with Zuko and Katara's arguments. She had thought that the two would be able to resolve their differences during the week or so following Katara's first outburst; or, as Toph liked to think of it, the "hammock incident". And ever since that day, both Zuko and Katara's moods had steadily declined. Toph might have been able to sense it happening, but that did not stop her total shock when Katara screamed in her face one night when Toph, who had woken up _positively_ _parched_, had stumbled out of bed and wandered sleepily through the halls and right into a very grumpy Katara.

"OW! Can't you watch where you're going, Katara?"

"NO I can't, Toph! Geez, you can sense someone's heartbeat, but you can't sense me coming down the hall?"

And with that, Katara stormed off right past the young Earthbender and down the stairwell behind her. Toph just stood rooted to the spot. It wasn't what Katara had said, it was _how_ she said it. She sounded angry and sad and pretty much annoyed. But that didn't excuse her behavior. Toph spared one glance towards the stairs which Katara had disappeared down.

"Who pissed in your bending water?"

--

A few hundred miles away, in one of the Fire Nation's maximum security prisons, the Avatar was lying down on his cot with hands behind his head. He was staring at the moon, silently thinking about many things: his friends, the end of this war, Katara, Sozin's Comet, the man with the tattoos – Iroh had told him this man's name was Jerec –, and Katara. Where was she? Was she okay? How were Sokka and Toph? Aang sighed and closed his eyes, trying to get to sleep. Lying awake worrying about them would not help anything. Aang opened his eyes again; if he couldn't help, then maybe…

"Keep them safe, Yue."

"Ahhh, speaking to the moon, young Avatar?"

Aang glanced to his left. Iroh was lying on his cot with one hand tucked behind his head, his other hand in the air with his first and middle finger extended. As Aang watched, a small, thin burst of flame shot out of his extended fingers and rose into the air above Iroh, where it exploded. Aang propped himself up on his elbow.

"What are you doing, Iroh?"

Iroh barely spared a glance at Aang, another burst of fire shooting out of his fingers and again exploding in seemingly empty air. Iroh sighed and lowered his hand and tucked it behind his head with the other one. Only then did he turn his gaze to meet Aang's.

"I was merely trying to reduce the insect population in my cell, young Avatar, but there are so many. I hardly believe it is worth my time."

Aang chuckled at the old man; Iroh was such a kid sometimes. Iroh turned over on his side to stare through the bars at Aang. He was grinning, much to Aang's surprise, good naturedly.

"How would you like to escape this place, young Avatar?"

Aang's mind raced into overdrive. His first though (okay, thoughts) was/were of Katara. He had only been in the prison for two weeks or so, and he was already homesick. He longed to be back with his family. He turned away so that Iroh would not see the desperation in his eyes. Iroh, however, had other plans.

"You miss them don't you, Aang?"

Aang turned his head back towards Iroh, his eyes shining with tears. He spoke, his voice slightly cracking.

"Yes. I just want to go home. I hate this war."

Across from him, Iroh nodded. It seemed liked only yesterday when his nephew had spoken those words. Iroh nodded, yawned, and stood up. He heard a gasp behind him.

"Iroh! You're not…big anymore!"

Iroh threw back his head and laughed. He laughed for a full minute before quieting himself. He gave Aang a knowing smile and a wink.

"You mean I'm not fat anymore? There is nothing to do in this prison, so I exercise. That and shoot insects out of the air."

Iroh patted his, newly, flattened stomach. And then he took a hold of two bars on the door of his cell. Aang saw them turn red…and then orange…and suddenly Iroh let go of the bars with a gasp of pain. Aang could hardily believe his eyes. A Firebender had _burned_ himself. Iroh turned towards the Avatar again.

"Don't look so surprised, Avatar. It happens more than you'd think. And it looks like my brother has…upgraded the prisons since I was here last."

"You mean, you were in jail before?"

"Certainly. I was a very troublesome young man. Of course, It was Fire Lord Azulon on the throne, not Ozai."

Iroh chuckled to himself.

"My father threw my brother and I in this very cell after we flooded his bedchambers. Oh, those were the days."

Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Your brother _flooded_ his bedchamber? I find that hard to believe."

"Oh, believe it, young Avatar. My brother was not always the hard, vicious ruler he is today. He knew how to have fun."

--

Fire Lord Ozai was in a good mood. A great mood would be more accurate. Or a stupendous mood; he was in such a fabulous mood because he finally had the Avatar in his grasp. Only one thing was troubling him: Azula, his pride and joy, had not been the one to capture the Avatar. She had failed, just like her miserable brother had before her. Because of her failure, he had had to call special attention to the issue. Or, rather, his top general. Jerec was a man who had served under Fire Lord Azulon, and had been a general for longer then Ozai cared to remember. This man was rare because he _always_ got the job done.

And now the same man sat before him in his war chamber, where the top officers had gathered to plan the last stages of their invasion. They were also there to prepare for the coming solar eclipse. Azula, at least, had done something right by telling her father about the Day of Black Sun, and he had acted accordingly. There were no less then two hundred Fire Nation battlecruisers, destroyers, frigates, and dreadnoughts anchored off the shore; smaller cutters and minesweepers maneuvered between the larger ships, and to and from the FNS _Sozin_, a massive ship which was armed with no less then two hundred and fifty catapults, one hundred and fifty of newly developed "heavy guns", which were basically cannons. Of these, fifty were fired a thirty two pound shot, twenty fired a heavier forty two pound shot, thirty were longer-barreled nine pounders, or "long nines" as the crew called them, and the last fifty were shorter sixty eight pound cannonades. The _Sozin_ also carried eighty war balloons and five zeppelins. She was, essentially, the very first supercarrier.

Yes, the Fire Nation was prepared for the Day of Black Sun. And now that they had the Avatar, they could rest easy. In the war room, the meeting was drawing to a close. Ozai gave orders to his officers, and they left, bowing, one by one. Finally, only Azula and Jerec remained. Ozai turned his head towards Jerec first.

"You have preformed well in your tasks, Jerec. Better even then my own children."

Here Azula scowled at Jerec's back. Ozai saw her, but ignored it. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"I know you are no longer a young man, but you have proved yourself the equal of any man half your age. I would like you to hunt now the Avatar's traveling companions."

Jerec stood and, with a clap of his fists, turned and stalked out of the room, his armor clinking slightly. Azula watched his retreating form with bared teeth until it had passed between the curtains. She shook her head before turning back towards her father. Ozai's glare could have, and most likely had, melted ice. Azula felt a chill of fear run down her spine. Her first since she was ten. Ozai spook, interrupting her thoughts.

"You disappoint me, Princess Azula. I saw so much potential in you. I was hoping that you would prove to be less of a failure then your brother, but you made a fool of me. Get out of my sight!"

Azula felt anger grip her stomach as she rose and stormed out of the chamber, not even saluting her father. As she exited, she kicked out at the wall, leaving a sizable dent. A voice behind her made her turn.

"Was it that bad?"

Azula glared a little at the perky acrobat before starting to walk away. Ty Lee fell into step behind her. She waited patiently for the princess to speak.

"No, it was worse. Father berated me for not capturing the Avatar. He said I was a failure like dear Zuzu. And he's right, I am."

Ty Lee was ready with what was, in her eyes, an encouraging remark.

"Well, you couldn't be too much of a failure. It's not like you have a scar, right Azula?"

Azula spun around, her fists clenched. Ty Lee slunk back, but Azula merely opened her mouth and then, after failing to find words, promptly closed it. She turned around and began walking again. As Ty Lee hurried to catch up, Azula spoke.

"He was given that because he disrespected our father, not because he failed a task. Now come with me. We're going to pay the Avatar a little visit.

--

_Bang Bang Bang!_

"Come on, Toph. I know you're in there."

Katara waited for Toph to reply. And waited. She knew Toph was in her room because she had seen her going in. She let out a long suffering sigh and raised her hand to knock.

_Bang Bang Bang!_

"Please, Toph? Can I just talk to you for a second?"

Toph's answer was muffled by the door, but clear enough.

"Why, so you can yell at me some more?"

Katara held up her hands in surrender, even though Toph couldn't see her. Although it was quite possible that Toph _could_ 'see' her. Katara took in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then released it.

"Listen, I just want to apologize for what a colossal bitch I've been. I know no one deserved it, and I'm sorry."

Katara's spirits rose several notches when she heard a slight groan from the metal door as Toph inched it open.

"Why couldn't you have said that a week ago, Sugar Queen?"

Toph would have been delighted if she could have seen the throbbing vein on Katara's temple. Even though she was blind, she could sense what was coming and brace herself for the explosion.

"What have I told you about that stupid nickname? Stop calling me that!"

"I think it's cute, Katara."

Katara whipped around at the sound of Zuko's voice. He was leaning against the far wall, quite obviously eavesdropping. Katara threw her arms up in defeat.

"First Aang and now you? You two can't gang up on me like that."

--

Aang collapsed onto his cot; he was exhausted. For two hours he had tried to find some way to break out of his cell. And he had had no luck. If only he had some water, he could cut through the bars. Iroh pressed his face as far as he could get it into Aang's cell.

"Please, Aang. The guards could be back at any moment."

Aang propped himself up on his elbow, sweat running down his face. He was breathing hard, and his words came between gasps for air.

"Where…_puff_…are they?"

"They are in one of the break rooms I imagine. They do not believe that we can escape, so they do not think that they need to stay here. But they could decide to check on us anytime."

Aang allowed himself to fall back on his cot, his breathing slowly coming under control. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"And they were right. How can we get out? You can't melt the bars, there's no earth or wat-"

Iroh glanced at the young boy; he was staring intently at his hand, which he had just used to wipe the sweat from his face. Aang shifted himself and dropped to the ground, where he began to do pushups with a speed that the old man had to admire.

"What are you doing, young Avatar?"

Aang's reply was short and to the point.

"I'm making my own water."

--

In the guardroom, a high stakes poker game was in progress. Shin-so glanced down at his cards and then once around the table at his compatriots. Smiling, he threw down his straight flush and started to laugh.

"Read 'em and weep, boys."

The other card-playing guards, whom actually included a woman, dropped their cards with mutual sounds of disgust at their bad fortune. Shin-so was just reaching for the pile of various valuables in the middle of the table when the door opened. Shin-so turned around and gasped; the one person he did not want to see had just walked into the room. So much for today's card game. Shin-so gulped as Azula pointed right at him.

"You, where are the Avatar and my dear uncle?"

Shin-so noisily gulped again before raising a shaking finger and point towards a metal door.

"Th-through that door and to the left, princess. They are in the last two cells."

Azula started towards the door, Ty Lee hard on her heels. Shin-so breathed a sigh of relief.

--

Katara stood on the ship's open air bridge with her hand on her forehead, trying to shield herself from the sun. In front of the dreadnaught was the faint outline of an island. Beside her, Sokka was looking extremely proud of himself.

"See? Did I not tell you that I could find land?"

Katara lowered her hand and turned to glare at her brother.

"Excuse me? You were just following Zuko's directions."

Sokka's smile shrunk by several molars.

"Well, can't you just give me some credit?"

Before Katara could explain to her brother that he had, in fact, done nothing really helpful for them, Toph interjected.

"Listen, Sokka; all you did was turn the ship in the direction that Zuko told you to, wedge the wheel against something hard so that we wouldn't change course, and then you pretty much laid around in your princess hammock. I'm the one who kept the engine stocked with coal."

Sokka opened his mouth to, undoubtedly, argue, but Katara stepped between the two.

"Let's not get angry at each other, guys."

"Oh, so now you want to play at being nice?"

Katara spun around and marched right up to Zuko, looking him right in his eyes.

"I happen to be a very nice person, Zuko."

Zuko scoffed at her, which only added to her anger.

"Since when?"

Katara looked like she was about to answer. She opened her mouth…and then closed it again. Toph decided to voice her opinion.

"I kinda agree with Prince Hotpants, Katara. You have been a pain for the last week or so."

Katara stood staring at Toph with one eyebrow raised, but her reaction was nothing compared to Zuko's. The prince's eyes were bugged completely out, and his mouth was hanging open so wide Appa could have flown inside. Sokka took it on himself to wave his hand in front of Zuko's face, with no apparent effect. As they watched, however, Zuko's mouth slowly closed and his eyes slowly moved towards Toph.

"Prince…Hotpants?"

"What's the matter, Zuko?" asked Katara. "I think it's cute."

"Shut up, Water Peasant!"

--

Azula and Ty Lee ran into the Avatar and Iroh, quite literally, as the two young women turned a corner that Sin-so had failed to mention. It was hard to say who was more surprised. All four, however, recovered at roughly the same moment, taking up fighting stances. Aang looked from Azula to Ty Lee, and then back. Iroh had his eyes fixed on his niece. Azula smiled warmly at him.

"Hello, uncle."

Iroh remained silent, his only response to his niece's greeting was a hardening of his eyes. Aang leaned in and spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What's the plan?"

Iroh replied with two words.

"We escape."

And then the Dragon of the West did something that Aang would never forget. The old Firebender shank down on one knee and shot a small, thin bolt of flame from his first two fingers, which closed the distance between the two prisoners and the two women in a manner of seconds. There was a scream of pain, and then Ty Lee fell to the ground, a small blackened hole in her shoulder. Aang could see the shock and fear cross her face as she turned her gaze from her fallen friend to her uncle. Iroh had to shout to be heard above Ty Lee's screams of pain.

"You can either fight us or help your friend, Azula. Make the right choice, for her sake."

Azula turned from her uncle to Ty Lee, who was looking up at Azula with pleading eyes, her shrieks of pain fading to whimpers as she lost consciousness. Azula closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She was the princess of the Fire Nation. She had to do her duty to her father. She couldn't let the Avatar escape. But Ty Lee needed help now. She could die before the fight was over. Azula took a deep breath and made her decision.


	23. The Island Part 2

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Book 3: Fire**

**Chapter 8: The Island**

**Part 2**

Ty Lee slowly opened her eyes. And then quickly shut them. After several seconds, she attempted to open then again. The light, blinding when she had first opened her eyes, was now more or less tolerable. And the figure that came into view was the last person she would have expected to see. Truth be told, she had fully expected never to see anyone again, so she was even more shocked when Azula's face came into view. Azula's eyes, while normally full of contempt and malice, were full of concern and worry. Ty Lee could also make out what appeared to be the remains of tears hanging onto corners of the Princess's eyes.

"Oh good, you're awake." Ty Lee managed to sit up, albeit painfully and with help from Azula, to see Mai standing on the other side of the room, who had a relieved smile on her face. "I was starting to think that Azula wouldn't get you here in time for us to save you."

Ty Lee raised her eyebrows. "Was I really hurt that bad?" She directed the question at Mai, but it was Azula who answered her.

"My uncle, much as I hate to admit it, is an extremely accomplished Firebender. He was able to disable one of your pressure points. Unfortunately for you, it also stopped your breathing. You had almost suffocated when I got you to our healers."

Ty Lee turned back to Azula. "What about your uncle and the Avatar? Won't your father be angry that you let them get away?" Azula nodded.

"Yes, I'm sure he'll be terribly angry. But I wasn't about to let you die for my enemies. Besides, he can get his pet _Jarec _to bring them back." She suddenly found herself engulfed in a bone breaking hug by Ty Lee.

"Thank you, Azula. I didn't think you cared."

Azula carefully unwound Ty Lee's arms from around her neck and gently pushed her down on the bed.

"Stupid. Of course I care. Now you should rest."

-----

"And, based on the rock formations and the approximate direction that Zuko told us to take…I have no idea where we are." Sokka lowered the map and offered his best Don't-hate-me-I-tried look. Zuko shook his head and sighed.

"Listen Sokka; no one cares if you can't find this island on a map. After all, we're in the Fire Nation now." He glanced over Sokka's shoulder at the map. "Plus, it's not even on the map. But you tried." He patted Sokka on the shoulder. Toph cleared her throat.

"Alright Zuko; where are we?"

The island that they had landed on was exactly what Katara pictured when she thought of the Fire Nation: white sand beaches, palm trees, a nice warm ambient temperature, colorful bird and lush underlying vegetation. Behind her, Zuko spoke up.

"This is Gouka Island." When Sokka started to chuckle, Zuko rounded on him. "Don't laugh too hard. The name means _Hell Fire_." At those words, Sokka had a small coughing fit, Toph gasped, and Katara's eyes grew three sizes. Sokka managed to gasp out a question.

"Hell Fire?"

Zuko nodded. "Roughly."

"So what's here?" asked Katara, who was already walking away from the group towards a magnificent waterfall cascading down a column of basalt to land in a glistening crystal clear pool. Zuko pointed towards some trees close by the pool.

"We're here for supplies. Really all we need to get is fresh water and fruit."

"And MEAT!" yelled Sokka, happily drawing his machete, only to be stopped by Zuko. Sokka looked back at him, his eyes clearly asking "Huh?"

"Don't bother. Nothing here is worth eating." Zuko suddenly launched himself past Sokka and, running full out, managed to grab Katara before she could wade into the water. As expected, she was less than happy.

"Zuko, what the hell?" she asked, swirling to face him, her hands on her hips and her blue eyes shining with anger. Zuko pointed at the pool again.

"That water's over 1500, Katara! Do you want to be boiled?"

"What? No it's –" Katara started, but was cut off by Zuko.

"Do you see the bubbles? It's being heated from underground." Katara followed Zuko's finger and cast new eyes on the pool. Now that she knew what to look for, she could see the steam rising from the surface and the small bubbles that broke the surface. Zuko continued "This whole island is basically one giant volcano. Now let's get our supplies and leave."

"Oh?" said Sokka. "If I didn't know better -"

"You don't know better." Interjected Toph. Sokka spun around and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Must you always do that?" Toph smiled and nodded at him, only adding to his initial outrage. Katara walked over and put a hand on Toph's shoulder. "Not now, Toph. But this better be important, Sokka."

"Right." Sokka turned to Zuko. "Why are you in such a hurry, Zuko?"

Zuko sighed before answering him. "Because this place is forbidden for my people."

This brought a collective gasp from everyone present. Katara broke the following silence.

"You mean there are forbidden places for Firebenders? Why is it forbidden?"

Zuko took his time before answering. He took a deep breath and held it. As he let it out, he began speaking.

"About 50 years ago, during Fire Lord Azulon's reign, we were fighting against the Western Coast of the Earth Kingdom. And we were losing. My grandfather sent the 2nd fleet to reinforce our garrison there. To get there, the fleet had to pass by this island. There was another route, but it would take longer, and my grandfather was not a patient man. To make a long story short, the volcano erupted. Most of the ships were destroyed by falling rocks and one even sunk under the weight of falling ash. Two ships managed to limp back to the Capital. It was the worst naval defeat in Fire Nation history, and the ships weren't even in enemy waters."

Zuko was silent for several seconds and continued. "I was always warned against coming here." He fell into silence and then started to walk over to the fruit trees. He sank down on one knee and took a handful of soil.

"My mother used to tell me that it was Avatar Roku who sank those ships, in protest of the war. I don't know if that's true or not, but I don't want to spend too long here."

Katara gasped and Sokka spun around to face Zuko so fast that his neck cracked. Toph, who was blind, just kind of stared vaguely in his direction. Sokka opened his mouth and let out a squeaking noise before finding his voice.

"But..but Avatar Roku died _100 years_ ago! There's no way…" Zuko rounded on him.

"I know, I know! It's just a story. Actually, it was started by Azulon, to make everyone think that the Avatar was this menacing person. But my mother always told me it was true, and that Avatar Roku's spirit was alive."

A great laugh escaped from Sokka. And then another. "His _spirit is still around_! You mother sounds as dumb – " Suddenly Zuko's sword was at his throat. Sokka gulped against the blade and glanced at Zuko, who had an ugly grimace on his face. Just as fast, Zuko found himself frozen to the nearest tree, and Katara's ice shards at _his_ throat.

"What the hell is your problem, Scarface?" The Waterbender hissed at him, tears of anger forming in her eyes, her rage causing her to use the nickname that she knew he hated. The grimace ran off Zuko's face like running water; his sword dropped from motionless hands. He closed his eyes for a split second and Katara thought she heard a sniffle, but when he opened them, he was back to his old self. Instead of her, he directed his shout at Sokka.

"Why did you say that about my mother?" When Sokka didn't answer, he took a step toward him. "I asked you a question, _peasant!"_ The last word echoed across the clearing. Sokka just stared back, still visibly shaking. He opened his mouth, but Katara interrupted.

"Just stop it you two!" They turned to look at her. "Don't you see what's going on?" Blank looks… "We're going back to square one. Please. Don't do this." With that, Katara turned and ran off. Zuko raised his hand, as if to hold her back. Beside him, Sokka sighed.

"She's right. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm sorry Zuko."

Zuko let out a huff. "Keep your apologies, peasant." When Toph walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder supportively, he gently brushed it off.

"I need some space." He told her, before walking off.

-----

Ty Lee was trying her best to block out the sounds coming from outside her room. The Firelord himself had walked down to her room and asked, none too kindly, to see Azula. And now the two were having a heated argument right outside. No pun intended. Ty Lee was practicing; standing on her hands, flipping through the air, punching, kicking, and she even threw in some elbow strikes. Mai, who was acting as her sparring partner, was holding her own well.

Both girls fell back panting as the door to Ty Lee's quarters opened. A very defeated looking Azula walked in, her head down, her hand covering her cheek. Without looking, she spoke to the two in the room.

"Pack your things. We're leaving." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out the door. Ten minutes later, Ty Lee and Mai left their respective rooms and met Azula in hers. The Fire Princess was waiting for them, holding her own small bag. Smiling as they ran up panting, she answered their unasked question.

"My father has made it abundantly clear that he does not want me around anymore. I don't suppose I can blame him, but we're still leaving." Before she could make a move, Ty Lee sheepishly raised her hand. "Ummm Azula? Why do we have to leave?" Azula sighed.

"Father has banished me from the palace. He was very angry that I chose to save you." With that, Azula turned and hurried away, but not before Ty Lee had seen the burn on her cheek. She let out a gasp of fright and ran after her friend.

"Azula! There's something on your cheek!"

Azula slowed and then turned to her acrobatic friend again. Ty Lee could clearly see the character that was burned into the flesh of her cheek.

_Shame_


End file.
